Morning Roundup: Stormy weather edition

Good morning, Houston. Sure, we've had a lot of rain, but there haven't been any hurricane scares yet — so it's pretty easy to overlook the fact that we're headed into the peak of the 2007 hurricane season. Not that easy, though: The Chronicle's Eric Berger reminds us that there's still some storm activity in the Atlantic, including a system 650 miles east about 650 miles east of the southern Windward Islands that could — could, we emphasize — turn into a hurricane and end up, well, just about anywhere. A threat? Who knows? But it's a good reminder that we shouldn't be putting our Dr. Neil Frank Hurricane Tracking Maps away just yet.

>> In Alief, a bunch of people and not many parks: Sure, a national survey says that Houston has the most park acreage of the nation's 10 biggest cities, but are those parks in the best locations? No, say Alief leaders, noting that their area's five parks provide just 2.7 acres of land per 1,000 residents — far below the city's 27.2 acres per 1,000 people. To put it another way, "we have 40,000 kids in Alief, and we have 12 swings," Alief Super Neighborhood Council member Barbara Quattro told the Chronicle. So how do we fix the problem? It's not so easy: A former 22-acre golf course in Alief could be purchased and turned into a city park, but that wouldn't help all that much. A city ordinance requiring developers to set aside park land or contribute to a park acquisition fund, though, could help; it's up for discussion by a City Council committee Aug. 13.

>> Copper theft makes Baby Jesus cry: Police are asking for the public's help in solving a rash of copper thefts from local churches. True Light Missionary Baptist Church on North Main Street is one that's been particularly hard-hit: The church's air conditioner was stripped of copper three times in a month. "We had to get more security around these cages [that enclose the a/c units]," the Rev. John Bowie told KPRC. "There is no traffic back here. People can come back here and work and not be stopped." The thefts are the result of rising scrap metal prices, and though police have tried to solve the crimes, they haven't gotten leads in all of them — and that's where the cops are hoping you can help. "People know who's doing this," City Councilman Adrian Garcia said. "People are talking about it. We need you to talk to us about those people so we can shut this problem down immediately." Know something? Call Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS.

>> Today's weather: A much better chance of rain today — 60 percent — will mean slightly lower temperatures this afternoon, barely touching 90 degrees. Overnight, we'll see temperatures in the mid-70s, but the rain chance should let up somewhat by 10 p.m. or so.

Headlines? Sure, why not?