MidtownCoog

eewwww.... I think you are right. Imagine what Leon's Lounge is going to smell like.

What good is a bar without a smoke?

The T-38 landed at La Porte in the late 80s/early 90s. We had a pic of it at my flight school.

Only dif w/TT is their ornamental crowns We need some ornamental greyhounds in honor fo Sam Houston!

24 hr. grocery shopping is too sketch for me. Can you really not wait until the sun rises for the can of corn?

If a T-38 can accidentally land at T49 (LaPorte) instead of EFD I think the answer must be yes. They had to tow him back to EFD down Fairmont Parkway and SH3.

I told my wife the same thing, Tex. I think this was their plan all along. Especially since I notied they sell things now like frozen french fries, ice cream, etc.

Neat. I took a ride in my first Piper Cub at Genoa Airfield. It's so close to Ellington I am surprised it was ever open. That Cub led my to getting my pilot's license a few years later.

The surface lots in the TMC have some beautiful fences and take advantage of the bayou scape. And most have security. I left my gate, in Houston's Midtown. {cue Sinatra} They were mandatory to keep all the ghetto-thugs out. And you never know what those male prostitues on Tuam might try. The only gates in Fall Creek are around home's driveways and the two golf courses. So if 15 miles from downtown is the burbs, then I'll take it! But if I were 20 years old, or gay, like y'all I just might move back.

Those lots have been there for 20+ years. They didn't need structured parking back then. And when they need more land those lots will be converted and you'll see structured parking. I think Segregated_Boston_Schools would be a real cool screen name.

Good grief, surface parking is tragic? And the solution to parking is? Boston has gone to your head.

The garage is still there.

Oy vey! At any rate, it's one nasty block as it stands to be in the "skyline district". What a silly name. Always with the names.

The Wedge has a parking garage attached to it. Or either I was in la-la land when I went from the Lobby to the parking garage.

Good news. The Hyatt and Doubletree were booked solid this week, so another choice for my travelers will be nice.

Leroy Hermes wrote that this week and sent it to The Chronicle editorial board. Hopefully we'll see it in Sunday's paper.

From Leroy Hermes, Chairman UH System Board of Regents: The Houston Chronicle recently published an article regarding the University of Houston's enrollment. The following opinion editorial piece, which has been submitted to the newspaper, addresses the issues noted in the story and the questions and comments posed by readers on the Chronicle's online blog. Houston, we have an opportunity. The University of Houston is 80 years young, and has been a state university for just over 40 years. In its short history it has educated leaders for Houston, for Texas, and for the nation; and it has been home to many important scientific discoveries. We are flexible, aspiring to be even better, and determined to make this university a world-class asset for Houston and Texas. While we are changing, we find that sometimes it is a tough task to wrestle to the ground old, outdated impressions. Today's University of Houston is not your father's or your grandmother's university. We are the state's next flagship university. We are being more selective in our admission standards. We are enhancing our academic and research programs. And we are changing our physical presence thanks to a new master plan that will result in a significant increase in resident students. Over the next twenty years, our alumni from past decades will hardly recognize us. As Houston Chronicle reporter Matt Tresaugue's article outlined earlier this week, along with these changes has come a temporary enrollment dip. But there is more to the enrollment story than a decrease in the number of students. The good news is that the number of UH freshmen in the top quartile of their high school graduating class has gone up more than 10 percent in the last few years. Our freshman applications are not only increasing, but also coming from across the state at a much higher level than five years ago. Recent high school graduates are seeing the University of Houston as a competitive university and a place with top programs and opportunities. As we raise our requirements, some students choose to go to other area universities and community colleges, returning to UH to complete their final two years. They are a strong and welcome addition to our student body. I read the comments at the end of Mr. Tresaugue's online story with great interest, and I appreciate the number of Houstonians who took time to offer their support and to suggest areas of improvement for the University of Houston. It is worth noting a few of the issues the online readers raised. Campus Safety: UH is safer than many college campuses across the state and country, and experiences fewer crimes each year than the Galleria area. We work hard to ensure everyone's safety with more than 300 monitored cameras across the campus, new lighting, increased foot and bicycle patrols, and emergency call boxes in every parking area. Tuition: As a taxpayer and a regent, I am passionate about keeping costs as low as possible for our students. The Texas Legislature has determined that each university's governing board should set tuition for their respective institutions in order to build the higher education resources needed by the state's growing population. As a growing research university, we are strengthening our academic programs, and students are helping make that happen through tuition and fees. We work very hard to minimize increases and to identify new scholarship funding whenever we have a tuition increase. Getting to Campus and Parking: We are partnering with Metro to bring increased bus and future rail services directly to campus. We opened our first multi-story parking garage last year and have another one on the books to open in 2008. Bringing the University to the Student: We are working with suburban communities to bring our educational programs to outlying areas of Houston. We currently offer degree programs at Sugar Land, Cinco Ranch, and the Woodlands. Our attempt to bring UH to the Northwest area was temporarily stalled, but we are working diligently with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to bring degree programs to this burgeoning area. Infrastructure and Administrative Issues: Many of the comments from readers indicated that our faculty members are held in high esteem. And a number of readers pointed out the dedication of many UH staff members. Nonetheless, the need for increased support for advising, financial aid, admissions, and other key student service areas is one we take very seriously. The Welcome Center, which opened last fall, was a first step in bringing enrollment and student services together in a customer-friendly setting. We will continue to find ways to improve these critical areas. UH has come further and faster than any other university in the country. The bar is raised and the new University of Houston is under construction. Today's UH students and programs are more highly competitive than those of five years ago. If you believe you can compete at the new University of Houston, we are building something here that we hope you will investigate with a fresh pair of eyes: Houston, we have a new UH. As chairman of the Board of Regents, I want to say this to prospective students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors: as with some Texas universities, we are experiencing an enrollment lull that many experts think is partially caused by the vibrant Houston economy and the availability of jobs. But the most important story at the University of Houston has to do with our progress and evolution. Look around and count the building cranes on the UH campus up a residence hall adding 1,000 new beds on campus, a new business school classroom building, a second architecture building, additional parking structures, and that is just the beginning changing. So Houston, send us all the bright young people you have. Send us students who want to experience a traditional campus life. Send us students who are young married parents, working in a bank or a business and wanting to get ahead with an MBA at hours that work for them. Send us every waiter and part-time worker in town with a passion for learning and a desire to become the first in their family to finish college. And send us your National Merit Scholars who are looking for an education second to none. We have a place for each and every one of them on a UH campus undergoing a moment of profound transformation guided by a master plan and a set of strategic goals that call for raising the bar for everyone who can make their way to this campus. We are forging a University of Houston to meets the needs of an ambitious city and state. It is an ongoing process for there is never an end to the building of a great university and, in this case, the building of a great flagship university for Texas right here in Houston. We invite you to be part of our success story. Leroy Hermes, Chairman UH System Board of Regents

SA might have a "nice" parking garage, but that Drury Plaza Hotel sign kills everything. So tacky.

Lockmat, You are confusing three different systems. The PUF, Excellence Funding and The Economic Development Fund. The economic development fund is Perry's own little invention. I think it has been used in Houston only once. The PUF funds only UT and A&M. And the Excellece Funding was created to placate UH and TT. And they only used it once.

You speak the truth, Timmy. The UT-D/Texas Instruments deal was a joke. Hard to imagine we have to bribe TI to keep research in Texas.

It's sad really. A&M and UT get all that PUF money, yet A&M rank #60 and UT #47. That's a poor return on investment.

That's not casual, that's Polock!

I don't think the NW campus would help UH's enrollment. The entire UH system has 50K plus as it is. This article is about the main campus. The part-time equation will alwasys work against UH. USNWR uses that against UH in rankings. I'd like to see part-timers at UHD/UH Sugar Land/UHCL and traditional students at the main camups. I actually think that is where UH is headed.

When they said "high end" I thought it was something I could run a marathon, win Wimbledon, etc. Not "high end" as in I better make sure not be burn my shoes when smoking a joint.

So this is "high end". "The Tipping Point is a high-end sneaker store that deals in hard-to-find and limited edition shoes." Partay pics: http://www.chron.com/entertainment/photogallery/Party_.html