Morning Roundup: Today in Houston edition

Good morning, Houston. It's always nice to see our fair city get some love from outside — so we were happy to hear that Lester Holt and a crew from the Today show were in town filming yesterday for the show's "Cities They Love" segment. The point of "Cities They Love" is to showcase off-the-beaten-path attractions, so Today visited the Beer Can House, took a ride along Buffalo Bayou and checked in at the Mucky Duck — and also filmed at Pappasito's and the Galleria (just to throw some highly mainstream material in for balance?). The "Cities They Love" segment will debut with the Houston tour Sunday.

>> City does 180 in high-rise flap: There's been an interesting twist in the drama over the proposed 23-story high-rise at 1717 Bissonnet: City officials withdrew their approval of a traffic analysis for the project two days after Mayor Bill White vowed to support neighborhood efforts to fight the development. Officials cited several potential traffic problems that the Public Works and Engineering Department apparently overlooked when they approved the project Sept. 4. As the Chronicle notes, the attention the Bissonnet project — which lies between the affluent Southampton and Boulevard Oaks neighborhoods — has gotten has some people wondering whether the city's only stepping in because wealthy residents are involved. Locals admit that they might have connections other people don't, but they maintain that their protest could help save other neighborhoods from similar developments, too: "Sometimes it takes a project affecting folks who can get things done to actually get things done," Southampton resident James Reeder said.

>> That's some response time: Some Timbergrove Manor residents are wondering why it took HPD more than an hour and a half to respond to a call about a home burglary in progress Tuesday — and so far, there really isn't an answer. The burglary happened early Tuesday afternoon at Ben Shwarts' house, and neighbor Mindy Herrera told KTRK she watched it from her window. Herrera called HPD at 1:33 p.m. and described the two men who were robbing the house: "I told them what they were wearing, exactly, what time they were in, where they were going," she said. And then Herrera waited for the police to show up ... and waited ... and waited. They finally arrived at 3:06 p.m. "I think they could've caught the two guys," Herrera said. "I really believe [that] because they were in the home 15 to 20 minutes." Fortunately, Herrera got pictures of the suspects, and HPD was able to lift fingerprints at the house, so officers hope they'll be able to find the crooks.

>> Today's weather: Expect increasing cloudiness today, with an afternoon high around 93 and a low tonight of 71. If you're interested in hanging out outdoors, better go ahead and do it: Looks like we'll have a pretty steady chance of rain for a few days beginning tomorrow. (And no, in case you're wondering, the rain won't be bringing a cool front. Sigh.)

More headlines after the jump ...