CoolBuddy06

I hold myself so much on political debates because I can't bring myself to voting along party lines, and I don't know what to think about people who do. But the number of hypocrisy in this post above is astounding. 1. Someone spent the last two minutes on a website and formed an opinion. Then states that the time is not long enough and reached a definite conclusion. All in two sentences. 2. You know what? Forget my take on McCain being the worst R candidate of all time and less crime in red states. I can't bring myself to writing it.

Thought I'd just pass thru, but after checking out DC, New York and St Louis, Houston became home for life.

...After scores of citizens had paid underserved penalties.

If I remember correctly, Blockbuster attempted to buy Circuit City less two years ago in a marriage of strange bedfellows. See how they all ended up.

I will believe it when it opens. For Waterlights District you're safer to bet on their announcemets turning up false. Thanks for the news though.

You mean secession, right? If you want to apply succession to the US, it is still three years away.

Obviously, you're not in healthcare. Although it doesn't discount your point, next time just use 103 as an example. 107 is more like a death situation.

The weather brought me here. The economy, traffic, "internationalness", food, people (yes, people. If you doubt it try New York), and no rigid zoning laws make Houston less sterile than most US cities. I like it for that.

very hot billiard table good food free ways (don't know how to put that in two words) bayou city what works good economy. To me, Houston is the only place where the best gets better.

Did we not have a 'Claudette' in 2003 or '04? My belief is that names are rested for 10 years before being used again.

Thanks for the info above. What exactly does the railroad want? Broadway will end at 521 and not go over their tracks I think.

Are they ever going to open 518 (yep, 518 is what SCR residents prefer) up to 521 on this project? What's the delay. Drove up 521 today and had to go use 2234, again.

I was pretty sure there has must have been a topic on it. But I searched in the past and found nothing. If anyone find it pls post the link.

I know I can always count on HAIFers. Thanks y'all. Btw gto, areyou serious about what goes on in there?

It always makes me wonder.

Memorial Hermann Southwest has the facility to be a level 1 trauma center. But such center needs surgeons and other specialists around the clock. Harris County will have to work on this if they buy the hospital and seek such designation, which I think is part of their plan. On the side, they will not lack level 1 trauma patients with all the gunshots going on in Gulfton and Club Creek.

My two kids were born in MH Southwest. Now they will never know the hospital by that name. It makes every sense for Memorial Hermann to dump this facility. It is losing money, and they're moving the corporate offices out to Memorial City. So why not get out of the area completely? Memorial Baptist predates me. Which are their facilities? If Memorial City is part of them then I can tell you they're not going to sell that. It brings in money.

There is also Quentin Mease Hospital on MacGregor and Scott, but they're still not enough. The southwest part needs its one to take the pressure off Ben Taub.

County wants to buy Memorial Hermann SW Hospital district purchase could run to $185 million By PEGGY O'HARE HOUSTON CHRONICLE Aug. 6, 2009, 9:36PM The Harris County Hospital District has tentatively agreed to buy Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital this fall with hopes of expanding medical care access to the uninsured and underprivileged, hospital officials announced Thursday. The sale, if approved by Harris County Commissioners Court, would allow the county's hospital district to add 600 beds to its system to keep up with public demand. Officials with both hospital networks declined to release the cost of the move Thursday, saying a confidentiality agreement prohibits them from discussing that, but County Commissioner Steve Radack said he had heard a potential price tag ranging from $165 million to $185 million. The district entered into a non-binding letter of intent to buy the hospital. The acquisition, scheduled to close by late November, will not result in a tax increase, hospital district officials said. The hospital district said it plans to operate the facility as a full-service hospital serving privately insured patients, as well as those on Medicare, Medicaid and those without medical insurance, they said. Dan Wolterman, chief executive officer for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, said his nonprofit network initially had no plans to sell the hospital at 7600 Beechnut, but noted the county hospital district's proposal to purchase the building “just made good sense” when further studied. Though Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital has remained profitable, its earnings have declined in recent years as the demographics of its patients have changed and other nearby hospitals have closed, Wolterman said. “Ideally, we would not have ventured out to do this, but this is the right thing to do,” Wolterman said Thursday night. “The southwest (Houston) market is a difficult market. Just going back seven or eight years ago, there were multiple hospitals serving that market — today the (Memorial Hermann) Southwest Hospital is the only one there. “The neighborhood surrounding (Memorial Hermann) Southwest Hospital has experienced significant demographic decline over the last 10-plus years. That has caused some difficulties in running this hospital efficiently as you are inundated with uninsured and underinsured patients and government patients from Medicare and Medicaid ... We have seen a slight deterioration in its profitability and in the volume of patients we treat on any given day. But it's not been significant — just a slow, steady erosion.” Wolterman said the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System's network is not overleveraged or overextended. He also said the proposed hospital sale was not driven by a need to “dump” some of its property. The entire Memorial Hermann system just experienced one of its most successful years ever, he said, with the nonprofit network's earnings exceeding its budgeted income by 62 percent. Actual earnings across the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System as a whole have exceeded budgeted income for nine consecutive years, he said. “This (proposed sale) was not done out of a position of weakness or problems,” Wolterman said Thursday night. “This was done out of a position of strength. We are very strong financially and have been.” County hospital district officials stressed they have no plans to close any of its other hospitals, such as LBJ Hospital. Besides adding more beds, the proposed purchase also will allow the county hospital district to pick up more Medicare and Medicaid patients, as well as privately insured patients, which will ultimately help subsidize the costs of its charity and indigent care, said David Lopez, chief executive officer of the Harris County Hospital District. “The demand for acute care is going to continue to grow,” Lopez said Thursday night. “This gives us an opportunity to take responsibility for the individuals that are considered gold-card members in our community. So there's a lot of reasons why this makes sense for us.” If the hospital sale is approved, Lopez said, he hopes to staff the facility with a mix of doctors already working there and physicians affiliated with the county hospital district. Memorial Hermann officials said they do not anticipate any layoffs will occur as a result of the proposed sale. If any jobs are eliminated, employees would be moved to other Memorial Hermann hospital campuses, Wolterman said. The county's proposed purchase encompasses the hospital building and four medical office buildings, a Heart and Vascular Institute, an accredited cancer center, a surgery center and an outpatient imaging center. The wellness center and the University Place Retirement Community on the hospital campus would not be included. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said more health care facilities are needed on Houston's southwest side and the deal could benefit both institutions by shifting patients who rely on Medicare or Medicaid to a public facility. Members of Commissioners Court were told recently that a deal was in the works, Emmett said, but hadn't been provided with details before Thursday's announcement. County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said she is open to the proposal if the price is reasonable and no tax increase is required. “Anything the hospital district can do to enhance its delivery of services and increase the access to care is a positive thing,” Garcia said. But Radack was more skeptical. “Obviously, this is a huge potential expenditure,” he said Thursday. Radack said he is particularly concerned the hospital's location, near Fort Bend County, will make it a magnet for residents of other counties seeking free health care. “I've been very concerned, now more than ever, with all the free care we've been giving to people from other counties, which needs to stop,” Radack said. The Chronicle's Mike Snyder contributed to this report.

Thanks for always keeping us honest about street and freeway names.

That's the problem. The cross causes some confusion. St Joseph is no longer affiliated to the Catholic Church. It's been bought by Hospital Patners of America, a struggling hospital group that also owns River Oaks Hospital (formerly Twelve Oaks) and pockets of hospitals in Austin and one of the Carolinas.

We use Vonage. Service is good. Along with the US and Canada you can make free calls to UK, France and Italy I think. Many other countries, eg. China are 1c / min. The few times That I'd called customer service I talked to people in India but it's no problem to me. You probably won't have to call often. I pester them a lot and keep getting the unlimited plan for 14.99/month. There's this new thing called Magic Jack. I think it's 14.99 a year. A year. I know three people that use it and they said call quality is good. You basically get two lines. You can take one overseas and call US numbers for free with it. If you can scour for their international rates it might be the way to go.

If that's what they plan on doing then I'm sure 288 mainlanes users will have to go wait at the light under the bridges, or cough up $1 for faster connection.

I am one of those patiently waiting for that too. These links might help a little: ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/hou/sh288_us59/official_record.pdf http://www.paradigmconsultants.com/files/301_Beltway_8_-_288_Bridge.pdf http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2007/02/big-plans-for-288-but-it-could-be.html There is a before-and-after picture of the interchange hiding somewhere in the TxDOT document. I don't think that you need the caveat about where you live.