CleaningLadyinCleveland

After reading this entire thread, and then looking at that awful excuse for a facebook page - I can summarize this whole thread.

1. The people who want to control everyone else's lives and tell everyone else how to live - dont want Wal Mart. They also dont want new homes, or any increase in property value. They love whole foods, and overpriced gimmick crap They want to save the earth, and bad mouth anybody who makes any money at all. Oil is evil, Wal Mart is worse, and they are here to save the world. These people are almost undoubtedly Obama supporters who are too blind to see that the media has whitewashed all his failures, and who also blame everything wrong in the world today on Bush.

2. In the other camp, are the people who are sick of the stereotyped people above. They are from varied political ideologies (get that from the politics section here) They are protective of private property rights, and generally think that the free market will work things out..They believe that Capitalism and the free market built this country, and that the unions, and people who try to control every aspect of everyone elses lives are at fault for the continual decline.

Personally I find the majority of the people in the stop the walmart/ Houston Heights Association people to be offensive. It makes me sick to see people think they have the right to tell someone else what they can or cant do with their own property.

I hope WalMart reads this thread and that joke for a facebook page, and instead of building a Wal Mart, builds a gun store, with a gun range, a military recruitment center, a RNC headquarters, and an architectural company who specializes in demolishing small bunaglows that have "Save Our Historic Neighbohood" signs in their front yards, and replacing them with HUGE modern monstrosities.

The gall that you people YES, "You People" think you have the right to tell others how to live is sickening.

"

If you dont want the walmart, get your hippy do gooder friends to all chip in and you can buy the lot and build another farmers market where everyone can buy "local" "organic" food straight from Mexico. Until you can afford it, you have no right to tell others who can what they can or cant do with it. Its not yours, its not your business, I dont care where it is.

How nice of you to decide what people are l....I don't match your description in the least except for I don't want a Wal-Mart store adjacent to the Heights.

I have not weighed in on this yet, because I really don’t care. My apathy, I think, is driven by a dual sense. I don’t like Walmart. I don’t hate Walmart.

However, I have been bothered by rampant supposition throughout this thread. My summary of the opposition to this development:

(1) Big box stores inside the Loop are bad…except for Target on Sawyer, HEB wherever, Costco on Wesleyan, and Whole Foods on Waugh. I, too, hate Big Box for its sprawl characteristics. Yet, I have not seen a single person who has posted say anything about footprint of the above developments or say anything about the egregious concrete around the new Kroger Signature on Shepherd, for that matter. All I see posted is what great assets these other boxes are.

(2) People being underpaid and mistreated…just like dishwashers in the locally owned restaurants, the workers who mill clothes at Target, and those who harvest our food available at the local grocery stores. May we strive to cure all such things.

(3) The proposed Walmart is in the Heights. It’s not. It’s on an odd, ugly undeveloped brownfield, south of the Katy Freeway. I have spoken out against the redevelopment of 945 Heights, (sometimes in most distasteful ways). I have expressed concerns and even argued with Redscare about 2125 Heights. I just don’t view the proposed Walmart as the uber-threat with which it is being treated. The issues for which I have stood before were totally in the middle of our neighborhood. This is not.

(4) Walmart ruins property values. The Dunvale example is convenient. Apparently, the Dunvale Walmart (which had been at the location for several years prior to 2001) suddenly created a huge drop in property values all the way out to Highway 6 in the past decade. However, it helped property values in 77024 a half-mile away? Certainly, 77007 may see some property value drop in the next few years. It has the advantage of being very convenient to major hubs of the City. Its disadvantage is that it is immersed by aging, stucco-box townhouses and apartment buildings, lining narrow streets, and adjacent to a bunch of flavor-of-the-month bars. If this development happens, Walmart might be the only sign of stability in the neighborhood.

(5) Walmart sells cheap crap. Yep! For people living paycheck-to-paycheck, affordable is better. The economy has no effect on this. Many people live this way, and will continue to do so.

(6) Walmart on Yale will create a traffic mess. Probably. Popular places do. Welcome to Houston!

Let’s not be stupid here. Walmart does not exist in a vacuum of injustice. We, in the Heights, are not appointed as stewards of justice. Living in a World 1 Country, in a unique neighborhood, in an economically stable City can make such things difficult to realize and digest. I don’t deny a certain knee-jerk instinct that this development would be bad (mostly over the big box issue). However, looking at the proposed development – locally and globally – I cannot object to this.

I don’t care if this Walmart flies or not. In light of the disaster in the Gulf, the two wars in which our Nation is engaged, and our struggling economy, the furor over this seems absurd. I ask that the discourse over this find a more balanced plateau in all manners.

Here's a link to key studies on Wal-Mart and Big Box Retail that says otherwise: http://www.newrules.org/retail/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail

Most of my discourse on HAIF entails pointing out the inadequacies or inconsistencies in other people's arguments. I don't present propaganda as evidence.

LMAO! That has got to be the funniest thing you've ever posted - maybe you are not a bore after all

I have no ethical qualms about any of that, in particular as it might pertain to a new Yale Street location. People with a thin skin shouldn't work for Wal-Mart. People that have ethical objections to it or whose preferred products aren't carried shouldn't shop there.

And frankly, if you want to get into the ethics of globalist capitalism (and Wal-Mart is only its poster child)...I would make a case based upon a humanistic perspective that international trade and finance advances human rights and dignity and is a dis-incentive for engaging in open aggression between industrialized nations. I wouldn't go so far as to say that opponents to globalist capitalism are evil (or describe them subjectively as protagonists/antagonists, CleaningLady), but I would describe them as misinformed or possibly misled by special interests.

Here we go again...I have to give you a reading comprehension lesson once again...Title of the thread "Wal-Mart to invade the Heights". It's about a proposed store to be built in a neighborhood (which you do not even live in). I wrote that YOU are not the protagonist, which by definition means that YOU are NOT ANY of the following:

1 a : the principal character in a literary work (as a drama or story) b : a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work or real event

2 : a leader, proponent, or supporter of a cause : champion

Actually, you aren't providing facts. You're bringing up unoriginal unsubstantiated hearsay that you admit is of questionable veracity. Some might describe it as "just a bunch of crap".

Mirror that back to you.

Oh and please don't make me explain what that means...I'm tired of having to give you definitions in my posts or correct your use of words....yawn again.

Are you claiming that the validity of all these anti-Wal-Mart arguments is inversely proportional to the distance from any given individual's house? That wouldn't be very intellectually honest.

And btw, I'll take your demand that I leave as an invitation to stay; if you want me gone that badly, it probably means that I've been effective at advancing my position.

I didn't tell you to leave - you seem to be very prone to blogging and have the time (?) and talk about maybe working at one of the new Wal-Marts since you don't have a job....

Oh and you haven't been effective or affective in "advancing your position". I don't think you've changed my mind or enlightened me in any way, shape or form (and perhaps others). You are not the protagonist in this thread....(yawn)

We've already established that HEB is actively seeking other sites for development in your neighborhood, but if HEB had outbid Wal-Mart then Wal-Mart probably would have given up on this market altogether for lack of suitably large and high-visibility sites. Clearly having both is better than having just one, so we should each be able to agree that this was a preferable outcome.

So your evidence is a Realtor going on county tax values and unsourced anecdotes? Give me a break. You wouldn't accept that kind of spiel at face value if you were thinking of using that guy to sell your house.

Besides, Spring Valley can afford to be provincial because it's small with a relatively homogeneous constituency. You're talking about the City of Houston, which has never fought a Wal-Mart at any other location; why should it fight one now, just because it's at your doorstep (kind of, but not really)?

What makes your neighborhood such a special case and Northline Commons less special? Could it be...those icky-looking brown people? Oh, no. Of course not. I wouldn't dare imply racism. So what is it, yankee? Why does the West End deserve a break in precedent? Why should the City of Houston ignore the vast number of constituents that would benefit from a Wal-Mart at this location? And...just to appease a small contingent of whiny people that can't just live and let live.

(Yawn)....give it a rest - Yankee doesn't live near Northline Commons, which I have heard is a done deal and the UFCW (union) has been contacted about that store.

I, too, feel compelled to go public with this message. Since you don't live in the Heights, why don't you take your crunchy-tastic, holier-than-thou, self-righteous and judgemental attitude, drag Niche along with you, and worry about something in your own soul-less and character-less neighborhoods. I, too, am really, really glad you didn't buy a house here. I worked my butt off to pay my way through college, worked in an incredibly male-dominated, chauvinistic industry, kicking a** I might add, and postponed having kids until I was in my early thirties so that I could provide for my kids in a way that would make their lives easier for them, as well as take these years a bit easier for myself. And, oh by the way, this also includes working at and volunteering for many not-for-profits (that I am betting with a name like "Crunchtastic" you support) in an effort to give others better breaks than life has already brought them. My husband works his butt off to provide for his family and maintian the ability to give to the causes of his choice. Why should we feel guilty about lunch with our friends, play dates, going to the gym, or whatever the hell we want to do or attitude we want to have if it is not hurting anyone else. My priorities are not misplaced. My kids wear what they want to wear, and if that includes multiple tutus with a frigging fireman hat, I am glad they are not worried about what some jaded ninny's opinions are.

I'm not going to apologize for wanting an H-E-B over a Wal-Mart. The H-E-B will hire the same, or more, people than the Wal-Mart, take better care of them and the neighborhood, and provide a better product that is still within the budget of people who shop at Wal-Mart. Accept that lower-income families deserve access to good quality at good prices, and, just like high-income families, they know the difference.

For all you know, I may be one of the ones physically campaigning against Wal-Mart. You bet I started this thread to create public awareness and hopefully protests. I feel like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, rubbing my hands together while saying, "Exxxxcellent."

You go girl!

There aren't any better options out there. Not realistic ones. When will see with open eyes what the true state of the economy (and commercial real estate and finance, specifically). It is time to adjust your dated utopian visions of mixed-use, town-square, quasi-urban wholesomeness for all. Quit being willfully ignorant of reality.

This is the reality: Houston Pavillions: mainly empty. West End: almost entirely empty. City Centre: mostly empty. Regent Square: dirt. For three years, dirt. And consider that Houston is in better shape than nearly all of the country. The Costco development got it right on Richmond and would like to see Wal-Mart do the same thing. I think it's unlikely though.

Like Niche said, the growth is coming from well capitalized grocery and big box retail. Dream all you want, there's not going to be mixed use boutique hotel, gymboree/slash whatever built on that large a site. It is not economically viable now and it won't be for years. Right now this country is saturated by retail that people aren't buying. Wal-Mart will bring things people will buy, and a net gain of jobs to the area, period. None of the other big boxes ringing the Heights forced businesses and jobs out. Not Lowes and HD on the north loop, not Target, not the new giant Kroger.

You are using a 20 year old argument pertinent to small town America and it simply doesn't apply in Houston, Texas. Protest Wal Mart labor practices all you want, but understand that keeping people under 40 hours a week is the rule, not the exception, in large retailers. Shop at Target and pretend that the cute sundress you just bought was not made in Ecuador by near-slave labor. Delude yourself into thinking that HEB is a Chinese-plastic free zone. Do whatever makes you feel right and good. But for the love of god, don't keep pushing this non-argument that a Yale St Wal Mart will take jobs and destroy businesses. At this location, in this city, it will not.

Have you been to City Centre in the past 6 months...? It is thriving! I've had business lunch meetings there and the whole area is packed and I've also met friends that live out that way for a weekend dinner and it was a zoo. They have activities and events there all of the time. Do some fact checking.

Also - It is not a 20-year old argument as there are the same objections going on in Chicago recently:

CHICAGO, May 24, 2010 (AScribe Newswire) -- A coalition of labor, community, and religious groups is pressing city council members to vote "no" Wednesday on zoning variances for Chicago's first two Wal-Mart stores -- unless the company agrees to a community benefits agreement (CBA) promising living wage jobs with benefits, local hiring, nondiscrimination, and neutrality on union organizing -- and forswearing predatory pricing.

From the plans, it looks like that upscale apartment complex just south of the bayou between Heights and Yale is going to go away and be replaced with retail or something. (and maybe that chic nightclub that fronts Yale, too)

that chic night club you mentioned is named Dirt.

Is this just a FB page or is there any actual community action behind it?

see this posting:

Stop the Heights Wal-Mart! More than 200 "Likes" in less than 12 hours. Keep spreading the word. Anyone who wants to be a part of running this campaign, please e-mail stopheightswalmart@gmail.com. We need help and volunteers!

...and if anyone has any interest in reading and/or participating - here is a link to a FB page - Stop Heights Wal-Mart: http://www.facebook....sWalMart?v=wall

Just for fun (and if you Want the Wal-Mart there - here's a preview of what shopping there will be like): http://www.peopleofwalmart.com

Here's the followup story on chron.com

http://www.chron.com...ss/7090711.html

The most interesting quote being:

Another grocer had been eyeing the tract.

H-E-B said it recently made an offer on the Ainbinder parcel but was later informed that a counteroffer from Wal-Mart Stores was accepted, spokeswoman Cyndy Garza-Roberts said.

"We will continue to look for sites to bring an H-E-B to the Heights," she said.

...and if anyone has any interest in reading and/or participating - here is a link to a FB page - Stop Heights Wal-Mart: http://www.facebook.com/StopHeightsWalMart?v=wall

Hello I need help.

My cat has been missing since Sunday night and none of my neighbors seem to have seen her. Although she is an outside animal, she is a fixture in my backyard and in four years has rarely missed a breakfast or dinner. She is a white longhair and is extremely shy. I live in the 800 block of Arlington. If anyone has spotted her would you please let me know. Also, if there are some seasoned pet people out there I would appreciate any tips for where else to call or look.

Thanks!

Post an ad with a picture on Craig's List, Houston Chronicle, SPCA and PetFinder (all free) From what I have heard and my experience - cats don't wander too far so post flyers in the neighborhood (3 block radius) and vet's offices as well. Is your cat microchipped...? If so then if she was picked up -they will contact you. Also check out the following web sites: PetHarbor.com, SPCA, HPCHES, BARC

I have a friend that lives in that block - I'll let them know to keep a lookout. How big is the cat and how old - was she wearing a collar? ...with a bell or no collar? Any distinguishing characteristics?

Good luck!

to AtticaFlinch and TheNiche:

....and to become our country's new definition of the American working class dream? oh sad day...

You're trying to "get back to the topic" by ranting about issues that have little to no effect on the Heights.

I am not ranting - I'm stating my opinion and some information that Walmart has had lawsuits about and lost. Did you read that title of this thread?

"...from their problems with parking lot crime..."

Parking lot crime (which RedScare has established in the other thread is a dubious concern) would occur in the West End, not the Heights.

hmmmm....I think the future will say differently about parking lot crime if Walmart does not have golf cart security in the parking lot.

"...not promoting women..."

A vacant lot doesn't promote females, either.

Other businesses that promote fairly could be built there.

"...the $3-a-day workers in China..."

China isn't in the Heights.

It's a Walmart factory that I was referring to....oh and there are other developing countries that Walmart has factories in as well...Bangledesh for one. Last I had read - 80% of Walmart goods come from China

"...the closing of small businesses in small towns..."

This is Houston, the nation's fourth-largest municipality and sixth-largest metropolitan area.

Where do you think people go for work when they have to leave small towns?

"...the subsidies..."

Wal-Mart will contribute to the property tax and sales tax base of Houston and Harris County. Local subsidies for new Wal-Mart stores do happen in some places, however do not happen in Houston.

Walmart has a history of challenging property taxes - especially in Texas. The two Baytown stores got a $1 mil and a $2.6 mil subsidy.

"...the high number of employees on Chips & Medicaid..."

The Census did not guarantee consistent hours and provided no health benefits, but people like myself from all over the country were happy to accept the work. Low wages are better than no wages. And someone that's employed has less time or motivation to commit crime. That's good for your neighborhood.

Walmart has a history of telling their employees to go on medicaid, food stamps and chips instead of giving them a living wage and/or more hours. Don't you think that you deserve that....? Walmart is going to increase the number of part-time workers that won't get insurance for over a year - but their turnover is so high that it probably doesn't matter.

The link cites that they've had difficulty expanding in particular cities, not metropolitan areas. Seeing as how Houston is about twice the size of NYC and has one seventh the density, comparisons between these fair cities aren't exactly apples-to-apples. Moreover, our dirt is cheap and our politicians are keenly attuned to their constituents' pocketbooks. The Wal-Mart business model will work here, as it has and does.

Besides the 3 largest cities there have been towns in Texas (and all over the country) that have been successful in keeping Walmart out of their towns. If people do not want a Walmart adjacent to the Heights (when there will already be one in Northline Commons), it can probably be done.

If you need any suggestions on how to make a difference in your community, let us know. In fact, heights yankee probably still has contact numbers for VISTA. And I know the guy who runs the End Hunger Network over by the freeway.

Thanks for the info...FYI - I have been doing volunteer/community work since high school.

Was Wal-Mart approached by the owner of the property on Yale between I-10 and Washington to buy the land? This is the same property H-E-B was looking at to build a new store along the lines of the one on Bunker Hill. Is the deal done with Wal-Mart? I've heard yes. What does this mean to the likes of our Heights Mom and Pops? What will that do to the traffic patterns on Yale and Washington? Google "Wal Mart parking lot crime" and let us know our thoughts!

To get back to the topic. Personally, I hate Walmart and do not want one adjacent to the Heights...from their problems with parking lot crime, not promoting women, the $3-a-day workers in China, the closing of small businesses in small towns, the subsidies, the high number of employees on Chips & Medicaid...oh I could go on and on. I'm not saying that other companies are perfect - but Walmart...ahhhh! They have been having a bit of trouble expanding in the 3 largest metros in the US - (isn't Houston #4...?) http://walmartwatch.com/pages/wal_marts_urban_problem/

Does anyone have proof that they are going to build one on Yale & I-10...? If so - I would definitely want to do some sort of action. Let me know if anyone else would like to make their voice heard and a make difference in their city/community.

Bingo.

"Isn't this possible walmart location still a rumor??"

ditto

True, having worked full-time on an honest-to-goodness career all through college, I graduated owning condo with lots of equity, a nice car (paid for), 401Ks, and plenty of stock investments. That's where being industrious and frugal had got me by the age of 24. But without income and in the midst of a weak housing market and a crashed financial market, I had to sell the condo and cash out all my investments (at the bottom of the market) to finance a business venture that I'd committed to just two months before getting laid off. The problem is, I've been unemployed so long (and coming from real estate development at my experience level, am less employable than a new college grad) that even my liquidated savings are running low, I can't continue to finance the venture and pay rent, and it's unclear whether I can keep it going. The outlook is bleak.

I have a few remnants from the good ol' days. My computer, mattresses, a desk, a chair, a dresser drawer, and pots and pans. But those were mostly pass-me-downs to begin with. My wardrobe is getting to be worn, and more than a little threadbare in places. The nice car incurred severe mechanical damage in February and had to be junked; I'm borrowing my dad's 14-year-old jalopy in the mean time, but it is a gas guzzler. ...better than nothing. And I now live in a 3/1 duplex unit without a living room and have two roommates: a flamboyant gay guy and a Macedonian. It's an odd trio.

Hopefully the Army will take me out of this hell. (Yes, I just said that.) Some medical history might prevent it, though...we'll find out pretty soon. If not, then I suppose that a Wal-Mart type job would be acceptable...except that there's not a Wal-Mart very near me. Too bad...

The moral of the story as I have lived it is that the ant's foodstores are prone to rot or wash away, and that the grasshopper will try eat the ant if the ant isn't paying close attention. I'd have been way better off if I hadn't been such a compulsive investor through the best days of my youth. I could've lived it up and traveled the world, then declared Chapter 7 and walked away scot-free. I didn't. And I regret it.

That's very nice of your father to loan you a car....sorry to hear of your misfortunes. You've succeeded before - you can do it again (that's what can differentiate you from the Walmart employees)- just try to keep quiet and not dwell on what once was - no one wants to hear about it and it won't help you right now... "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." Henry Ford

...and one more Henry Ford quote that applies to this forum, "If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own."

Oh, really? According to the Census Bureau, there are 5,255,844 firms with a payroll and that have fewer than twenty employees. To be generous, I'll assume that there are two partners from separate households for every such small business, that none of these small businesses are merely legal entities controlled by larger firms, and that no owner of a small business is ever "upper class" or "lower class". That would mean that only 9.4% of all American households would be considered small business owners (and again, this is being extraordinarily generous). I dare you to advance a definition of the "middle class" wherein 9.4% of people are its majority.

It's also interesting to note that these small firms employ 21,197,087 persons, just 18.4% of all employed persons; yet their payroll only accounts for 15.5% of the national total, meaning that small businesses tend to pay their employees less than medium- or large-sized businesses.

The next time you hear an elected official refer to small businesses as "the backbone of our economy", you will know that they are trying to trick you. Don't fall for it. Big businesses got big because they are more efficient; higher productivity translates to a higher material standard of living.

The breakout of businesses with up to 99 employees is probably what constitutes the small businesses that Heights Yankee may be referring to which is around 30%. Large businesses tend to pay their CEO very- very high compared to the average worker. The ratios have changed dramatically between execs and the average worker since the 50s....ie - since 1950, top executives earned (salary, bonus, stocks, incentives) 24 times the average worker's , 122 times in 1990 and 550 times in 2009. Honestly don't think the same ratio stands for small businesses (<100 employees). Who is tricking whom?

...well,well Mr The Niche:

"I am not young enough to know everything"

(Oscar Wilde)

About your living expenses being "only slightly more than half of what a full-time Wal-Mart employee on minimum wage earns"; what you need to see is that compared to the Walmart employees - since you have had money in the past, you may probably already have the "stuff" that makes life very comfortable (physically and mentally)- a nice car (probably paid for), a nice home (that you feel safe in), very nice clothes, nice shoes, education=future opportunity, etc. And what you don't have or need (I'm guessing) you can probably find the means if needed (downgrade your car and/or home, cash out IRAs, 401Ks etc) to get it. If not - I guess you better read the fable about the the ant and the grasshopper... again.

As an over-educated white male that held a full-time job and developed a career during his college years which was rendered a liability by the financial crisis...and that responded by investing my life's savings in an ill-conceived partnership that has ultimately voided those savings...and having found myself being the lowest earner of my two college student roommates... with no employment prospects other than the Army...I find that I'm positioned well below the working class Mexican households that I've been Censusing in terms of buying power (and earning power).

Consider yourself lucky, as I would if I had easier access to a Wal-Mart.

As for your hometown...clearly it wasn't a big city. Houston is not a small town. Attempting to compare the two is a fallacy of composition. Since you have embraced the name "Yankee", I'm gathering that you're probably from the northeast or the rust belt. And yeah, with or without Wal-Mart, those places are withering. High taxes and a strict regulatory environment there are how you make a living here.

I have an academic background in economics and professional backgrounds in market research, economic development, and commercial real estate development. Who better to provide input on the matter? Really.

Really.... Since you've already disclosed how unsuccessful you are then I would interpret that your background as mentioned above was not very successful/knowledgeable and may be a low level employee(?), therefore it seems that you may not the better (or only) person to give input in the matter You also previously mentioned a focus group study...how many people were in the study - 12 to about 25...? Usually modeling research to project up to a population should be over 1,000 people at least. Were they studying first generation Mexican-Americans (not Hispanics since you mentioned Mexican Families) , 2nd or 3rd generation or new arrivals...? There are vast differences between the groups.

The Heights has changed dramatically in the last 10 years and lots of companies (including commercial real estate) are just using the 2000 census with annual adjustments made on average/projected population growth. What can drastically change demographics in a short time in a zip code (or block group) are new apartment complexes due to their high number of households in a limited space. That I am aware of - there have not been many new apartment complexes built - except for the two on I-10 (Target & near Heights blvd) and the one on Yale (at 22nd) and it doesn't look to me that they are marketing and housing "Mexican families" (as you put it). If they are building a store at Northline Commons, not too far from there that will service Walmart's typical (repeat) customer (demographics), I would be very surprised if WalMart put a store in the Heights on Yale at I-10.

If you look at Walmart's actual statistics about their parking lot crime - then naturally the Heights store (if there is to be one) will probably have the same stats, especially if it is right off of I-10. Does anyone know what the stats are for Target parking lot crime as a whole and the Target off Sawyer parking lot crime as compared to their average? The percentage up or down of the Sawyer store compared to their average crime rate would be good to estimate the parking lot crime of the proposed Walmart on I-10 at Yale.

You're preaching to a largely deaf choir. I've tried to explain to the locals, with little success.

They're incapable of learning.

I, too, come from an area where preservation of homes was so honored that being the President of the Preservation & Restoration Society came with a very high social status. Preservation was not remodeling the kitchen to have granite counter tops and slap some paint on it - but to actually restore the buildings to their original state ( i.e. by using gas torches to remove the old paint off to the bare wood, finding original light fixtures, stained and leaded glass windows, sinks etc.) These buildings were built in the 1700's & 1800's (and early 1900's) with great care, detail, to last a long time, with great materials, attention to detail and designed by architects (including Frank Lloyd Wright). I understand that bungalows have some historic value (I live in one), but if they are falling apart due to not being maintained properly, too costly to restore (due to previous owners neglect) or does not have any significant architectural merits how is that in relation to historic...? ...it's more like run down.

A few years ago someone (from an historic organization that I won't mention) was taking pictures of the house next door to me and said to me that the owner did a great job of restoring and preserving the house. I thought that was odd to say as only the front of the house looked the same - it was built out on the back to add a larger kitchen, living room and master bedroom/bat- gutted it and added every modern convenience to it. (it's a great house - I love it). I think some people in Houston Heights confuse the words "restoration" and "remodeling". Not that I am against either one - it's a personal choice for your own home and for a homeowner to make and have a voice in the community about - not the government's sole decision.

Oh and that house - the modern Victorian on 22nd at Harvard...I had heard it was a modern interpretation of the Cooley mansion (rebuilt on the SE corner of Heights & 18th.)

The Washington Corridor Quiet Zone went into effect today. Feels strange to see the trains pass by and not hear the loud horn. Thanks to all that made this happen. Hope this is something positive for everyone.

I loved the sound of the trains - the sound (in the distance) reminded me of my grandmother's summer house in Canada. Being the youngest, I would get up early with her and we would listen to the trains while having milk and oreos for breakfast.