musicman

Ha ha, we would look more legit then many residents living in the free housing, for that I'm sure. We both drive older paid for vehicles such as a 1991 4Runner with close to 200k miles on it and a 2000 Acura 3.2tl. All with the "stock" rims, no added speakers, etc... Handout people love their flashy apparel, cars, wheels, and bling bling.

don't forget that satellite dish, latest hdtv and latest cell phone.

Where could my wife and I sign up for some of this free housing the city if giving away? I would love to invest my housing dollars and utility dollars into some more investment property and what not and this would allow me to potentially retire earlier then planned.

I promise we would be great neighbors too! Keep our place up and looking nice, etc....

Please let me know Mayor...

Thanks,

Scharpe St Guy

before you know it we'll be seeing you on wayne dolcefino's latest expose'.

Thank you for these insightful and eloquently well put posts. The mind boggles.

saving bandwidth

On behalf of the 77023 zip code, I'd like to hereby welcome culturally-displaced Montrosians into our eclectic low-priced neighborhood. Wander not to the Heights, Shepherd Forest, Independence Heights, Acres Homes, the Near Northside or other pathetic locales. Eastwood is your home now.

gotta house 4 sale? LOL

Removing is a bad word. How about relocating?

spoken like a true govt employee

so what is the dilemma? if there was a real problem, the city wouldn't be giving them a permit....hopefully. i think the REAL problem is that montrose is going mainstream now, the eclectic hood of the past is gone forever.

unfortunately, the city has lost a lot in federal funds due to the inaction of the housing dept. the mayor wants to turn the program around so the funding isn't lost. But, the housing dept is doing this without consulting the local residents. i had a long conversation with several of the city employees and one of the project leads for the broadway project in particular. the president of glenbrook was irritated that she had heard nothing of the project and the lead responded that he told you, rps, to pass on the info.

i did visit one complex recently and it was very nice and clean however this was a brand new project. The same company,new hope, has proposed another project where the old houtex inn has stood for yrs (45south between griggs and the brays bayou). one critical problem with that site is the lack of buses and the mgmt is very concerned.

the company who wants to build on glenbrook is not new hope, so no one knows what to expect or how they will be maintained. the new hope facilities are all single occupancy only while the ones on broadway will not be single occupancy but may have up to 3 bedrooms is what the guy said.

the administration wants to get as many projects going as possible to supposedly help the homeless, but i have a sneaky feeling that these will be for people who are still getting katrina/rita assistance.

I still don't get it. If there is to be electric buses driving down dedicated roadways, why not just use rail?

cost.

Not surprising for our side of Houston. In the last year I have see quite a few new bus companies pop up all over in our area. How does one go about reporting items to ICE??? I have a neighbor who other neighbors have told me is a "coyote".

Regards,

Scharpe St Guy

go to your pip meeting and talk to the captain in the area. usually he/she will put you in contact with the right officials.

yeah it was very interesting. when my dad was in the fire dept, he remember he told me he turned in a few places like this. but at 67 people, this is definitely one of the larger ones i remember.

Will the BRTs be electric or diesel powered?

most likely combustion engine.

When retail left Main, so have many of the pedestrians along main. But with the new buildings,etc , the pedestrians are more dispersed.

My wife and I live in clear lake and are considering moving to the east side of downtown. We have looked at the developments just east of downtown by Waterhill, Urban Lofts on Ennis and In-Town Homes on Clinton. We really like the area and have felt save everywhere went. However, with the recent post about the Mckinney Villas shooting I am questioning how safe the area really is. Is Mckinney considered more dangerous than other areas or would you consider this random occurrence? I go out jogging everyday, are there streets I should avoid?

the shooting is more random. the ones on clinton are near some projects. the ones there aren't fenced and have no parking. you're asking for trouble. south of the bayou is still considered warehouse district. i know the last yr has been quite hard on the warehouses. a good friend manages one and another has a studio. both have mentioned the increase in crime by vagrants. they've had to lock their buildings because of thefts.

that being said, you are talking a transitional area. it isn't clear lake. i ride my bike from where i live through the area quite regularly during the day. At night it is a little more dicey, and as a result i don't do it as often. i just don't think mckinney is worse. around the old el mercado del sol is also dicey cause of those projects over there. as for jogging at nite, i think your biggest problem may be dogs. it definitely is NOT clear lake.

I went to the rodeo and the Astrodome was named "The Hideout" What's the deal with it? It looks dark when i leave work? When i went for cook off i don't think anyone was allowed in. I'm headed back tomorrow.

the dome is still used for the rodeo just not for the same purpose.

city gives it out free too when they clean out ditches etc. if you put it in your yard...don't put it randomly because it may create more drainage problems. il.e. water will go towards your house rather than away

That should stop a lot of destruction.

I think the tax exemption, especially if they can convince Harris Co. to go along with it, is a huge incentive.

I wonder if they removed the current requirement for $50K or more to be spent on renovation in order to receive the tax relief. That keeps the DIY person with the single family home out of the game in many cases.

it surprises me how many spend way more than 50k. i don't think the city could determine whether a person spent at least 50k but if the house looks good hopefully they won't be turned down.

Postal Service fixes long waits by removing clocks

The missing clock didn't stop postal customer Al Cunningham from noticing the amount of time spent waiting for service.

"It's always long here," said Cunningham, 49, an insurance adjuster and former postal employee who was standing in line at the Watson Post Office in Fort Worth.

The Watson Post Office is one of the nation's 37,000 post offices in which clocks have been removed from retail areas as part of a "retail standardization program" launched last year. The effort is designed to give the public-service areas a more uniform appearance, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in Thursday editions.

"We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock," said Stephen Seewoester, Dallas spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.

At the Fort Worth post office, the hook that once held up the small battery-powered clock now protrudes from a plaster wall. The clock was taken down months ago.

A customer-service expert at Texas A&M University was not impressed with the decision to take down the timepieces.

"It's silly," said Leonard Berry, holder of the M.B. Zale Chair in Retail and Marketing Leadership. "I guess they think people don't have watches."

Hoping to save Houston's most historic structures, the city is developing policies that would for the first time grant a permanent, total city tax exemption to properties designated as protected landmarks.

The new tax incentive, which excludes single-family residences but could affect dozens of other buildings in and around the city's core, is among several proposals that could foster preservation and maintenance of historically significant structures, officials say.

The plans also call for a reduction in the percentage of neighborhood support required to designate a historic district, and other revisions to city rules that the City Council will consider soon.

While preservationists might prefer a tougher law banning any demolition of historic landmarks, the compromise could be more palatable to developers and property rights advocates who argue the city shouldn't dictate how owners manage their structures.

"I hope they'll be significant," Mayor Bill White said Wednesday, referring to the proposals. "We want to create some incentives for people who protect their properties with this landmark status."

Preservationists applauded the recommendations, though some expressed concern that the tax incentive excludes residences and protects only individual buildings rather than neighborhoods.

Buildings that meet the criteria would be eligible for a full, permanent exemption from city property taxes, and officials said the city will ask Harris County to provide a tax exemption as well. Owners would have to refund any tax savings if they altered the building's facade.

Another key component of the city proposal would lower the amount of property owner support required for the creation of a historic district, from 67 percent to 51 percent.

Another revision to existing preservation rules would prohibit new development for five years if a designated historic structure is demolished. Any new buildings after that time would have to get approval from the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission.

article

i'm sure you should ahve a huge cleaning bill due to the smoke.

so why do you have property insurance if you HOA is covering the damage? what type of coverage is provided by the HOA?

so are you upset that you're not getting some money back like your neighbor? if the HOA insurance is covering rebuild costs i'm not sure how many other companies would come in and give you additional money if the damange has been taken care of by another.

In the meantime, I think the 4,730 city owned spaces already built or under construction will suffice.

go to a good concert at the toyota center and it is surprising how little parking is available as a result.

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. What were you, about 2 years old in 1983?

Yeah he was crawling around lookin for the nearest jumbotron to watch the smurfs.

I agree, I have seen banners hanging off them during special events, a permanent video screen would be a nice asthetic cover up.

i guess you're definition of aesthetic is different than mine.

hey travelguy

do you know where i could access current info on the plans/status of project brays on line?

try here brays bayou project

I dunno, those bars might already like their locations at its stands. The B.U.S. by MMP does great business on game nights, especially on weekends.

concur. HP should have its own UNIQUE things otherwise people wouldn't be inclined to go.

Thanks for the pics. I like the one with the giant boots and the skyline in the background best. A close second is the one at Minute Maid

they have more boots at IAH.