Morning Roundup: Creating a buzz edition

Good morning, Houston. Have you heard the one about the bees that took over a neighborhood? Three years ago, a family (tribe?) of bees moved into a vacant home in Ruth Gray's neighborhood. Over time, they grew in number and ferocity, and when calls to the city were fruitless, Gray contacted a pest control company which said the situation was "instant, instant death." After destroying the hive, the bees attacked and three children were taken to the hospital. City officials have not commented on the situation.

>> Much ado about nothing?: Former Houstonian and Grey's Anatomy actor Isiah Washington, who was recently fired from the TV show after an incident that involved an anti-gay slur, says that ABC fired the wrong guy. Washington says he used the word in an argument with dreamy co-star Patrick Dempsey, not against openly gay co-star T.R. Knight, as Knight has alleged. Washington told the Chronicle that he has to "clear his name" and that he is not angry, just disappointed. He also said that this is his first negative incident in a Hollywood career that spans 20+ years.

>> An Enron update: Two Enron stories in the news today: Jeff McMahon, former Enron finance chief, has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle civil allegations but has neither admitted to or denied any wrongdoings on his part. McMahon now works in Houston for a privately owned energy company, and it's a good thing. He's also been barred from being an officer or director for a publicly traded company for five years, although he was never charged with any crimes. McMahon only became finance chief of the tragically fated company in 2001, replacing Andrew Fastow as the company spiraled into bankruptcy. Elsewhere in the post-Enron world, prosecutors are still requesting that Linda Lay hand over money and property gained by illegal activity. Last month, the Widow Lay filed court papers that said the government hadn't adequately proved that this money and property were tainted by unscrupulous practices at Enron, but prosecutors insist the contrary.

>> Storm research center on the way: Houston's own Rice University has been chosen to house Texas' first storm research center. The center will focus on predicting and planning for weather disasters. The center will organize leading universities, researchers, emergency managers and private and public entities to better address severe storm impacts in Texas and Louisiana, especially in major cities. Members of the center include seven Texas universities, the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center and the Houston-Galveston Area Council. One of the center's big goals is to develop computer software capable of mapping flood inundation zones in real time using radar rainfall data.

>> Today's weather: If you liked yesterday, then you'll love today. It will be mostly cloudy again with a slight chance of thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon and evening. As for temperatures, we hope you enjoy the 74-93 range, because that's where we'll be hovering for a while.

And now, some headlines that are creating a buzz of their own...