News: February 2008 Archives

According to Houston METRO's new fare system, today marks the end of free transfers for cash paying customers. METRO introduced the fare structure and the Q Card to the community on January 2nd. METRO touts the benefits of the Q Card system, as creating a simpler fare system by moving from 65 methods of payment to two - the Q and cold, hard cash. METRO is restructuring its fare system to simplify what has......

Happy bissextile day, Houston. If you're reading this from jail — we're actually not even sure if you can use the Internet in jail — well, don't feel alone: According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, 1 of every 100 American adults are behind bars today. Good lord. The good news: Texas is one of the states that has tried to slow the growth of its inmate population through community supervision of low-risk offenders and alternative punishments for some former prisoners who violate parole and probation rules.......

Hola, Houston. It's rodeo time. Everyone get happy. Throw ya hands in the air if you love Hannah Montana! Musical acts like Montana, rather the lack of Tejano acts on the rodeo bill, are just what have folks around Houston up in arms. Former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos is calling for "friends across the whole great state of Texas not to attend the Houston livestock show, period." According to the ABC13.com story, the issue is a lack of main stage Tejano acts on Go Tejano Day, which "celebrates Houston’s rich......

Just when you thought that the return of actual baseball would distract us from the off-season drama, a Congressional committee has taken the first steps toward starting a criminal investigation of Roger Clemens on a charge of perjury in his testimony about whether or not he used HGH and other steroids. But what about McNamee? Thusfar, he's home free: a draft letter that mentions Clemens--and only Clemens, not his former trainer--was drawn up by the committee last week, says the New York Times, citing an anonymous......

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Rockets, riding high on a 12 game winning streak going into tonight's game against the Wizards, will be without star Yao Ming for the rest of the season after Yao was diagnosed today with a stress fracture in his left foot. The team's medical staf will speak to the press later today, but the word from the nearly-infallible Chris Berman at Fox26 is that Yao will have surgery on the foot and won't play again this year. Where does that......

Good morning, Houston. When it comes to politics, we suppose there's a lot to be said for the shock factor — which is why Brian Klock, a candidate for Congressional District 22, is getting some attention. Klock, one of 10 people vying for the Republican nomination for CD 22, has put up a billboard showing downtown Houston being destroyed by a huge explosion. "The Threat Is Real," the billboard reads. "Ask Brian Klock." And Klock's campaign does seem to center on being prepared to fight terrorism: According to his website, he wants......

You know what they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. That certainly seems to be the case for the Houston Rockets. Local hoops fans will recall that the Rockets’ marketing staff attempted to appeal to the gentler sex a month back through the use of a Ladies Night Out gimmick. Well those wacky folks are at it again, and this time they’re seeking out a few good men. For the same price as that offered to the women (wasn’t that part......

West Texas, specifically Marfa, may be No Country for Old Men, but it certainly seems to be the place for making Academy Award winning films. Speaking of winning, one lucky Houston Fiesta shopper hit it big in the Texas Lotto. >> TSU's president calls for entrance standard: The Chronicle reports that new TSU president John Rudley is moving toward more stringent admissions standards for the embattled university. President Rudley is taking over the helm of at Texas' largest historically black university and is tasked with getting......

Many of the NBA’s so called pundits have dismissed the Houston Rockets’ accomplishments in achieving a 10-game winning streak, by exclaiming that until the squad beat a team of true substance, they were simply taking advantage of an undemanding schedule. Talking heads around the nation have stated that Houston’s road match-up against the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets would be the true test to determine if the Rockets were legitimate playoff threats. Wonder no more. The Rockets swaggered through New Orleans like General Sherman marching......

Straight outta TX-22 and in front of the microphone: Rep. Nick Lampson is teaming up with the Veterans Service Office and communications students at UH to help document the stories of American veterans for the Library of Congress. From the department of Did You Know?: “Houston is proud to have the largest concentration of veterans in the United States. We are obligated to do all we can to honor their service,” Lampson said. “The Veterans History Project provides a terrific opportunity for veterans’ stories to be recorded......

>> Two Houston Area Offshore Drilling Companies Win Big: The oil and money are flowing freely for two drilling companies based in Houston. A report in the Houston Business Journal, lists 2007 revenue for mammoth behemoth, Transocean closed out at $3.1 billion. The company also announced a $586 million contract extension with client Anadarko, another Houston company. The HBJ also reports that The Rowan Companies also inked a three year deal. The Rowan deal is valued at $201 million for services provided to Saudi Aramco. The Houston-based company manufactures and operates......

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey may have been the busiest man not involved in a presidential election over the past two days. Less than 24 hours after trading Bonzi Wells and Mike James to the New Orleans Hornets, Morey was at it again. In what can only be dubbed as a swap of malcontents, the Rockets shipped Kirk Snyder and a 2nd round draft pick off to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for hometown Houston high school legend Gerald Green just moments before the expiration of the......