pineda

the latest Petri dish for growing Houston visionaries...

just too bad there's not more like him...

As seen under "Houston Deals" of Ralph Bivins new blog:

Another great website, thanks again Kirzania! I was wondering where Ralph was going to land and this looks promising.

We went there when I was young. It was Busch Gardens and Busch Bird Park, because it had a lot of exotic birds there. The facility, as I remember it, was very well-kept and very lush and tropical. It also had a "tasting room" attached nearby, that my parents liked! We all enjoyed the free tour of the Budweiser plant with their gigantic copper kettles, and warm delicious smell of brewing hops. It was a pleasant place, in all, and we were sad to see it leave.

Spring ISD has a new way to track on-campus visitors

At Klein schools, everyone who is not faculty or students must check in at the front office and get a visitor badge to wear. I'm sure that any school, if notified in advance, would be more than happy to have someone from the office give you a tour of the school as well as answer any questions you might have. Good luck!

Manuel- What is your background? You seem to know a lot more than the "average bear" about Mexican food. BTW, what's YOUR favorite places to dine at?

This would be a "unique grocery" to put in there: Trader Joe's

Elegant Tatami Here's the website of a store in the Houston area that specializes in Japanese design. It will be a good place for you to start, looks very nice.

I have been to Eva's and thought it was good. Last weekend, I tried a new restaurant recently opened in the woodlands area called Tin Star, and I really think their green and red sauces are some of the best I've ever tasted anywhere in the Greater Houston area, and I love Mexican food! Here's their menu: Tin Star menu

Chili's for casual dining Tex-Mex Tin Star for fast casual Tex-Mex Mi Luna for casual dining fusion Spanish Doneraki's on Fulton for authentic Mexican Los Tios for nostalgia factor Mexican For fast food Mexican? nothing special comes to mind...

Fort Bend Parkway schematic from HCTRA

27, do you get any kind of special break when buying a home because you're a firefighter? I remember HUD had a program for policemen and teachers that helped them get into neighborhoods that they might otherwise be priced out of. Does this apply to you also? Just curious, I'm sure you've already checked it out.

Centre at Greenway

(this sounds like it will be a nice addition, is this where the ice rink was?) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02/23/2005 Natural Landmark: Town Green Park to be 'great' addition to vibrant downtown By: BURTON SPEAKMAN , Villager staff The groundbreaking for Town Green Park, which will be The Woodlands' 100th park, was held Friday morning in Town Center. The $3.5 million project will be contained within four acres located near the South Montgomery County Library on The Woodlands Waterway, and will eventually serve as a stop along The Waterway for water taxis, and for the new Town Center trolleys. The groundbreaking for Town Green Park, which will be The Woodlands' 100th park, was held Friday morning in Town Center. The $3.5 million project will be contained within four acres located near the South Montgomery County Library on The Woodlands Waterway, and will eventually serve as a stop along The Waterway for water taxis, and for the new Town Center trolleys. "Every vibrant downtown has to have a great park, and this is it," said Frank Robinson, president of the Town Center Improvement District. "It will be great for people who live here in Town Center and those who come to visit." A "vibrant downtown" has to have green space. This park will utilize a significant amount of green space within Town Center, said TCID President Bob Kinnear. The centerpiece of the park will be its "Great Lawn," which will be a long, open community gathering area. This area will be nearly the length of two football fields. The park will also have a children's area on the western side called The Children's Garden that will feature contemporary excerpts of Aesop's Fables on large permanent storybooks. "We are thrilled to be part of such a wonderful addition to The Woodlands Town Center," said Thomas D'Alesandro, president and CEO of The Woodlands Development Company. Robinson said he expects Town Green to become a natural landmark in the heart of Town Center that residents are sure to enjoy. It will be a nice place for families with children to hang out as well, he said, since the children's area will have an amphitheatre large enough for at least 50 children. "Town Green Park will be a great addition to the area and we are pleased that children and their families will be able to access a literature-friendly park right in our backyard," said Bonnie Boorman, South Montgomery County Library branch manager. TWDC donated the land to TCID for the park and is handling construction, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2005 or early 2006. "That's no small donation for the development company considering the cost for land in Town Center," Robinson said. Land is currently selling in Town Center for approximately $300 per square foot, D'Alesandro said. "The development company is best credited for what it didn't do," he said, referring to the natural and open areas within The Woodlands and Town Center. When Town Center is finished, it will retain 28 percent open space. TCID is paying TWDC for construction costs associated with the project. SWA group of Houston is designing the park and Miner-Dederick Constructors is the general contractor. Town Green Park groundbreaking was originally planned for August 2004, but delays pushed the project back to February. The TCID has been working toward the construction of the park for a total of five years. Robinson said the process leading up to Friday's groundbreaking has been kind of like giving birth.

Apparently, a lot of people do, just not you. Welcome to the forum, D.P."2"

Tommy Vu

We went over this a few months back, but here it is again. After reading through his website and how he favors rehabbing defunct properties into great new properties that revitalize rundown areas of town, I had a new found respect for this guy. I wish he'd come back to Houston and do his magic here! Pollack Investments website

One month ago, no one knew that HCTRA would be taking over the project from GPA (except maybe Senator Jon Lindsay). The GPA was busy completing their environmental studies and hoping for a summer release of the DEIS. At that time, the information available from the GPA was that the Grand Parkway, or TX-99 or SH-99, would stop at 59, because of various obstacles mentioned earlier. Now HCTRA has becomed very involved, and is apparently conducting their own studies independently of the GPA, and not conducting interviews unless their studies are complete. Same goes for Judge Eckels here too. He is not taking interviews with the public until Mike Strech (Director of HCTRA) is done with his schematics. So much for his offer to meet with the public about this issue one month ago. As for your comment about me breezing right past the point, the point is I believed, based upon information available at the time, that this issue of development of anything east of 59 was "dead in the water". However, things can and do change seemingly daily with this project. Maddening, isn't it? Of course, I thought a road project dreamed up forty years ago called the Grand Parkway was dead too, but look what's happened there!

As I stated earlier, whatever information one is able to ascertain at any given moment about this project is whatever may true only for that moment. The information I received from the GPA is that which I have stated repeatedly that there are no active studies for anything east of 59, due to various reasons previously stated. The new schedule posted today that I saw on their website is contradictory to what they have previously stated, but that's not really anything new either. They will also tell you that the Grand Parkway (unless this has changed, too, depending on who you ask) that the Grand Parkway is likely to be more of a "C" shape than the 40 year old dream of a super loop. As I am able to get new information (hopefully from HCTRA) soon, I will of course post it here for all my HAIF friends to read and discuss the merits of such information. Thank you for your continued discourse and interest in my favorite subject.

If it'll make you feel better, you can call the Grand Parkway Association and ask Robin Sterry or David Gornet about the status of anything Grand Parkway related east of 59, and they will tell you the same. I don't think I have it in writing, but if you need to hear it yourself, feel free to call them. One explanation I've heard is that no developers are that interested in doing anything east of 59 right now, the hot spot is definitely the 290 area and north of there. Another explanation that I've heard from Texas Parks and Wildlife is that the area east of 59 is more "ecologically sensitive" and the route originally planned plowed right through a state park area. I believe my contact's name was Phil, if that makes you feel any better, my little fact-checker buddy, you....

Accuracy of information (especially any pertaining to this project) all depends on whose telling you that information. According to a representative of the Grand Parkway Association that I spoke to very recently, they said that anything east is "on hold" for now because the viability of developing that portion has not been proven. Their response to questions asked about any sections east of 59 has never wavered in all the time we've spent discussing this issue. But, then again, no representatives of the Grand Parkway Association were present or even knowledgeable of the meeting held in Harris County Commissioner's Court recently where approximately $6 Million Dollars was given to Kellogg, Brown and Root to study the schematics for certain sections of the Grand Parkway. This latest information I posted just became available on the GPA website, so I posted it, but have not been able to get in touch with anyone from the GPA...yet. I do try to bring the latest information forward, as I get it, but since there's so many groups involved like TxDOT, GPA, and now HCTRA, it doesn't ever seem like I can get straight answers from any of them as to what's currently happening. I did also just come into possession of some feasibility studies and revenue projection reports of some of the sections, and maybe if you beg me real nice, I'll post them for you, but I'll warn you, you probably won't understand them...

Grand Parkway's plans for 2005 & Beyond

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spring may be host to a toll road By: JESSICA WELLINGTON, HCN Newspapers Because of a decision at the Harris County Commissioner's Court, it looks like the F2 segment of the Grand Parkway project (a 12-mile freeway between Texas 249 and Interstate 45 that runs through Spring) may become a toll road. During the Jan. 25 Commissioner's Court, under the heading of Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA), a request was made and approved to negotiate engineering service agreements for a possible toll road through the northern part of Harris County, including the controversial F2 segment. The Commissioner's Court authorized the HCTRA to spend $5.6 million dollars on a study to be completed by Kellogg Brown and Root, Inc. and Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc. Residents, including those belonging to United to Save our Spring, an organization dedicated to keeping the parkway out of Spring neighborhoods, are concerned about this new development. "Harris County seems like they are trying to fast track the project," said Connie O'Donnell with United to Save our Spring. "It looks like it is most definitely going to be a toll road." According to Patricia Freeze with the HCTRA, the Commissioner's Court approved engineering service agreements to study three segments to determine whether it is economically viable to construct toll facilities and to possibly consider alternate routes. "We have been asked by TxDOT to take over this project because of their economic restrictions and budget constraints," said Freeze. "They have one year in the contractual agreement to complete the studies." State Representative Debbie Riddle is concerned about this development because the HCTRA isn't required to consult the public on decisions. Riddle ensures concerned citizens that she is still looking out for them in regard to this issue. "I will continue to have the voice of my constituent's heard, even though the Harris County Toll Road Authority can pretty much do what they want to do when they want to!" Riddle said. "They don't have to hold public meetings; they are not required to listen to me or anyone else." Although the HCTRA is not required to hold public meetings, Freeze encourages citizens to seek information about the project. "Anytime the community has interest in the status they are more than welcome to talk to us," said Freeze. "Our open forum is Commissioner's Court." Riddle hopes that everyone can work together and come up with a workable solution. "I believe if the toll road authority will agree to work with us then we can find some solutions that will benefit everyone," said Riddle. "Mobility is important but we must not forget that the lives of people, their homes and their schools are also important."