AtticaFlinch

It's tough to get worked up about anything on Facebook unless your entire point-of-view can be summarized with the letters O, M and G. The only reason I'm even on Facebook is to show off pictures of my kid to geographically distant family members and write funny stuff on my wife's wall. It's no political outlet for me, and any group assigned for such an action would be a waste of time. I think most proponents of the Walmart are pragmatists and not in support because of the knee-jerk emotional cues that the name Walmart can set off. So, looking for strength in an argument based on Facebook popularity is naive at best. I remember recently some of my less evolved Facebook "friends" were reposting links to a couple Facebook fanpages titled something dumb like "I Bet We Can Get One Million People to Support Banning the Teaching of Evolution in School" and "I Bet We Can Get One Million People to Say Global Warming is a Hoax". And you know what? If I recall correctly, both of those fanpages were pretty close to achieving their membership goal.

What I don't understand, and what I still don't understand even despite all the back and forth in this thread, is why the City is choosing to make their stand in the Heights with mostly residential wood frame houses, especially when it's obvious the neighborhood with the most real historical value is the near East End, directly across 59 from Downtown, which is still full of turn of the century brick clad warehouses. Oh well. At least it's good to see Heights residents getting worked up about something actually relevant to their lives instead of whether or not a Walmart builds nearby.

Far be it from me to be that lowbrow. I wasn't making a joke at all. In fact, I was referring to the all-beef kosher wieners at Katz's Deli. Why, what were you thinking? Probably something as equally erudite, I'm sure. Only children can find genital and scatological humor amusing, and only they would take such a softball opportunity as a thread about wieners in Montrose to make a joke about... well, wieners in Montrose. Only a child would do such a horrific, immature thing. You know I once saw the Oscar Mayer wienermobile in front of Chances. No joke attached to the statement, but it's true. I probably would have considered immature jokes at such a sight, but I was simply too engrossed in thought over important issues like the economic disparity among social classes, pondering the existence of God, contemplating the vagaries of the meaning of life and eating at Der Wienerschnitzel to have considered such crass, simplistic, boorish humor.

What has the world come to when we can get almost 30 comments in on a wiener thread and no one is willing to make the obvious joke? It's a sad day for potty humor everywhere. And rsb, you're in Montrose. The beef wiener options are near limitless.

Precisely. With HOA deed restrictions you have the ability to opt in or out of it by choosing whether or not to buy within a particular neighborhood. If the Historic District laws included a clause exempting grandfathered home owners (from the time legislation was passed), it probably wouldn't bother anyone.

Now that you mention it, the Heights arsonist will probably make a huge comeback should this preservation thing be enacted. If a property owner wants to do a teardown/rebuild but the red tape is too costly and problematic to allow it, you can bet the arsonist will resurface, and this time he'll have graduated from sheds and garages to the entire house.

Bahahaha! I really hope the Walmart gets built now. It may be the only thing that can prevent the Heights from becoming a police state. I may go join the pro-Walmart Facebook page now.

HOAs can sue for breach of contract, as you have to sign one of those contracts when you move into a neighborhood with an existing HOA. I have no idea how this historic district thing would work since it would not only affect new residents. If someone opted not to sign a contract, and because that wasn't a condition upon moving into the neighborhood, it would seem that civil courts wouldn't have much say in this. Perhaps criminal fines (or jail time) could be levied. I don't know. It all sounds so draconian that way, and I think this is yet another one of those ideas that sounds better on paper but falls apart with the details.

I imagine it would work like an HOA and the owner would be responsible for all the costs.

Then I take it you didn't take advantage of JCI's 87¢ chili dogs last Thursday? Too bad. There was a Weinerschnitzel where I went to college. And my opinion is m'eh, they're hotdogs. It's tough to get excited about hotdogs.

The difference is every La Quinta ever built is an architectural gem.

I think the most virulent protesters don't want Walmart nearby because they don't trust their own self-control.

I think most people at Disco Green will actually be focusing their attention on the cooling waters of the fully functional fountains rather than the buildings surrounding the park. It's hot here, and all. Priorities. I'll register my disgust with the building's facade by not ever renting a room there. Granted, I probably won't ever rent a room in the same city as where my house is located, but still...

Actually, in this thread I've twice related how I saved $20 on a baby crib at Walmart vs Target. I grant you, it's anecdotal evidence, but it's not nothing. It was the exact same make and model, and even the UPC code was identical (I'm occasionally that anal-retentive in real life, and this was one of those occasions). I contend $20 is not an insignificant amount of money if you're counting pennies. Also, I've unfortunately only recently discovered that the price per ounce of the store brand baby formula (identical ingredients to Similac) is ridiculously cheaper than HEB, Kroger, Costco* and Target brands. I say "unfortunately" only because I hadn't discovered the price disparity till I moved out here to the 'burbs near a Walmart only a few months ago. When I was a hip inner-looper, my Walmart trips were infrequent as that meant a trip to the dreaded Dunvale location, so price shopping baby formula never included Walmart. That means for about eight or nine months of my kid's life, I was getting raped trying to feed her. Fortunately she's too young to remember that. No kid needs an image of their father getting bent over by the vile baby formula guilds forever tainting their memories. *Yeah seriously, Walmart is cheaper than the store brand of a discount wholesale club. If you don't believe me, price it yourself. Costco's store brand is Kirkland; Walmart's is Parent's Choice.

Thanks for reminding me. I amend my previous post here to reflect that anywhere the phrase "Heights residents" can be found should be prefaced with the qualifier "some". Paternalism, or maybe some oddball notion of a Heights manifest destiny.

You think we all secretly agree with you, but are just arguing for argument's sake? I know you've got a really high opinion of the right and moral position on which you've chosen to make your stand, but really, not everyone sees Walmart as being evil and malevolent, or as in my case think Walmert is no more evil and malevolent than any other corporation. Having money isn't a grave sin. Acting douchey to others who don't share in your bounty is though. Fine, you've got a lot of money. You don't want to shop at Walmart. Good, no one cares. Neither Central Market, Costco nor Whole Foods is far from you. We already know you won't shop at the Walmart, so no harm no foul for you at all whatsoever. However, there are people who will shop there, and frankly their quality of life concerns vastly outweigh any Heights pretensions. Oh, and I really don't know how many times this has to be said, but in yet another attempt to clarify this point, I will repeat it yet again. This Walmart is not only for Heights residents. The Yale Street plot is a strategic location to draw as many people as possible from the entirety of the inner-loop. The people of the Heights cannot for some reason seem to grasp this point, and they seem to continually lose sight of the fact they share the rest of the inner loop with people of various means. And speaking for what's best for those of lesser means based on your emotions and not reason reeks of paternalism and doucheyness. No, everybody pays property taxes. Landlords don't gift their civic obligations to their lessees. The taxes are subsumed by the monthly lease cost. Also, considering all Houston property taxes are paid for by all Houstonians and not just Heights residents, and those dollars are then doled out where they're needed throughout the entire city, no one neighborhood and no one resident has any more say than another. Ultimately, if you paid the property taxes on the one piece of property in question, then you could decide what would go there. Otherwise, unless you're willing to outbid Walmart, you have no say. Are you seriously mythologizing your opposition to an inner-loop Walmart near the Heights as somehow being on par with civil rights, child labor and consumer protection progress? It's no wonder it's been impossible to reason with you. Yours is a quest worthy of Jesus, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr combined. Keep fighting then, brave soldier. God speed. It's weird you'd reference Ayn Rand to support your thesis that the government should interfere with a business' ability to do business. Very weird indeed.

I'm sure he's tired of saying it. Many of us are tired of saying it. It's tiring to justify the word affluence, especially as to how the meaning changes along with the context. Walmart's corporate affluence isn't the same thing as a Heights resident's desire to appear affluent.

I've been meaning to tell you, Red, I like "Margaritaville" as much as the next guy, but that shirt is frankly appalling.

I tend to agree with you, PorTENT. That photo is taken from this very website. It even says so on the bottom of the photo.

This is the incredible shrinking thread.

I agree this is a complex and multifaceted issue, and if I'm not mistaken, I think that was also Marksmu's larger point. By questioning people's visceral emotional responses and highlighting their incongruities in logic, Marksmu appears to have underlined the fact most people weren't rightfully acknowledging just how complex the issue is. I think his analogy made plenty of sense. Then again, I wholly support the construction of the Walmart even though I hate Walmart. (How's that for complex?)

That's pretty and all, but where's the image of the people who'll actually be in the park? Like this guy:

You're right. It certainly would have been better to leave the entire lot a parking lot. All or nothing, I say. It's the internet way.

On what do you base this presumption? Walmart has no construction within the inner loop on which to determine precedent. Your presumption is based purely on emotional conceit and contains zero facts. As for the lights, I still don't get it. How is this different than any other thru street connecting Heights to Washington across I-10? Besides (and again), your argument with regards to traffic is against development in general, not against Walmart. Any development on the lot in question will affect traffic, whether it's a Walmart, an HEB or some mixed-use pseudo-urban mid-rise housing development with ground floor retail. It really doesn't matter what it is. You should just be grateful the developers and Walmart are on the hook for most of the costs of infrastructure upgrades. If Yale, which is a cruddy, pothole-filled stretch of pavement, will be redone with no costs further than tax abatements to the Houston resident, then good for us and good for Walmart. It already sounds like they're acting like more than responsible neighbors. And while I've never used it, I'm almost certain there's a dedicated bike trail just for people like you who wish to cross I-10 without risking their lives. Isn't it over by Studemont? I'm certain there's a thread about it somewhere on HAIF. (Edit: Nevermind, 20th filled in the gaps here.)