Golden Locks

Hate to take away from the Wal-Mart brawl...but does anyone know what's going on at Merchants Park? It looks like they're building out a few new storefronts near the renovated Kroger.

We ate here last evening about 6 pm...4 of us. There were several other small groups of customers but the restaurant didn't seem packed...and it did seem well staffed...at least 5-6 people...though I heard one of the men behind the counter complaining that they needed more staff...they were too busy. The food was really good and quite affordable. The restaurant decor is very charming. Our complaint: the service was sooooo slow. We waited 45 minutes for three hamburgers and a patty melt....and, once arrived, most of our order had mistakes. Quite surprising since you write down your own order for the server, which does feel a little odd. (It's also odd that the server tries to guess who had what when the food arrives...of course, he didn't know because all he did was pick up our paper order.) One order (patty melt) took another almost 15 minutes to correct. Though they ultimately didn't charge us for this sandwich, it certainly overshadowed our experience...that we were finished with our meals when the last one arrived. The pies were REALLY good....again it took an extraordinary amount of time to get them though....we were there well over 90 minutes We'll try again in a few weeks in hopes that they work out the service kinks.

The only police presence I noticed this morning was the FOUR cop cars - one guy/car with the speed gun and THREE additional cop cars parked in a row next to him - pulling over would-be speeders on Yale and maybe 6th (?) street...between 7:30-8 am. Of note, they were stationed well below the school zone, which - to me - would have made more sense to monitor. so of course the arsonist was probably long gone by this time...but still FOUR cars...

But the letter HHA sent out says that residents are responsible for only 80 percent of the costs....an *additional 20 percent* is covered by Harris County ...that's where the nearly $96k comes in ...so administrative overhead is $36k, or about 50 percent of the deputy's cost??

y'all have WAY too much time on your hands.... ...oh, and you can always send the blue canaries over to 13th and Blair...I can't say that I've ever seen them patrolling around our street...and it might save us the Constable Patrol fee if they had a more visible presence....

Miserable parking is right! Sunday there were *no* available spaces....it seems like they've only left about 20 spots for customers...everything else is reserved for construction.

Thanks! I've made an appt to tour Esperanza....where do I find the Heights Mom's mailing group? Sounds perfect.

I'll be in need of child care for a 3 month old this spring. I'm wondering if anyone has a Heights-area recommendation to share... Thanks!

at the heights assoc meeting tonight, they said they've signed up 20 towards the "west side" goal of 311. assuming another 15 or so people signed up at tonight's meeting, still seems like a long ways to go. if they get more than 311, the options are to increase the hours or, possibly, reduce the costs...though i don't know how likely the latter is. on the east side, they haven't even made the total number they need for the active program yet.. overall, it does sound like a great program...they said in Garden Oaks, the program cut crime by 20 percent...then went they cut the service, crime went up 20 percent.

wow! who knew there'd be such a response to my starbucks post. i don't even drink coffee...just thought people'd be interested in the store's renovation progress.

At Krogers today, there was a sign that the new Starbucks will open on 10/23.

The new kroger gas station looks like it's nearly ready to open... anybody know an ETA for the gas station and the reconstruction? also, i thought i read that a 24 Fitness and other new businesses might come into the same plaza....does anyone know if we can expect any new businesses alongside the new and improved kroger?