News: May 2008 Archives

It's official: Houston is the best place to live in America. At least according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance, which placed Houston at the top of their list of Best Cities to Live, Work and Play for 2008. The respected personal finance magazine named a number of reasons that Houston topped their list this year: our strong economy (in spite of any national trends), continued job growth, low cost of living, diverse cultures and vibrant art scene. And although it may seem silly to have such obvious benefits pointed out to those of us......

It's official. Your great city of Houston is the baseball capitol of America. How many other cities can say they have three colleges in the NCAA Regionals? None! The action gets started Friday as Texas Southern, the University of Houston and Rice, all prepare for their journey to Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series. Texas Southern is the surprise of the bunch. On the season, the Tigers were 16-32, but they won the SWAC Tournament and received an automatic bid after upsetting two-time defending......

HPD to implement the Escobar Rule, which is designed to prevent accidental discharge of weapons and is based on the shooting death of Eli Escobar Analysts can't agree on the next step for oil prices but do concur that there won't be a big dip in price per barrel Clearlake family is a force on the triathlon course Victoria law enforcement officials are in hot water Clones Twins top the academic heap at three Houston-area high schools The good news for Astros fans: Berkman is leading the all-star......

Nerds tell the FBI & FAA that they didn't shoot a rocket a passing airliner A trucker lost his load of animal parts, and by parts we means guts, late yesterday at Calvalcade and the Eastex freeway "Houston, we have a problem...with the toilet, " says the crew of the International Space Station School's out forever at Mount Carmel High School Houstonian's were ticketed for blocking the sidewalk while parking in their own driveways Dynamo Captain, Wade Barrett, is a game-time hoop decision for tonight's contest ......

While the golden days of espresso and gelato with friends on the giant wooden deck at Dolce & Freddo are long behind us, the vacant building at San Felipe and Voss that once housed the popular Italian coffeehouse has stood neglected since its closure several years ago, a sad reminder of days past. Similarly, the wood-paneled, mid-century modern office buildings nestled around the former Dolce & Freddo slowly became abandoned and shuttered, blending into the heavy trees of the bayou around them over time. People began to wonder......

Roland Carnaby's widow's lawyer says HPD violated its own policy when pursuing her husband, who claimed to be a CIA agent The reward for information on armed jewel robbers who've struck at least four times in recent weeks has risen to $20,000 Turns out people really will steal anything — if you don't believe us, take a minute to learn about used cooking oil bandits A Harris County deputy and his wife were found dead Thursday morning, having burned to death in their Liberty County mobile home River Oaks Shopping Center redevelopment updates: The parking......

You name it, Brad Lincoln won it. 2006 was a very special year for the University of Houston All-American. He became the first UH and C-USA player to win a national player of the year award. He led the Cougars in wins (12) with a 1.69 ERA and 152 strike outs. He also belted 14 home runs and led UH with 53 RBI. He was the fourth overall pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brad was on cloud nine until he felt discomfort in his......

A Missouri City man shot at would-be burglars and wounded one A grand jury will hear the Joe Horn case, but prosecutors won't disclose if they are seeking an indictment Pet version of lojack led to the return of a dog found in Montgomery County from Kentucky Downtown teens disrupted Metro riders and restaurant patrons. Some were arrested. Houston-area Juneteenth activities are starting to take shape Uncle Hunter put the Astros on top of the Cubs Tuesday night. Shawn Chacon's victory last night in the rubber match completed the series win for......

A life sentence for Juan Leonardo Quintero, the man convicted of killing HPD Officer Rodney Johnson, meant 'my husband's life meant nothing,' Johnson's widow said HISD: We only have 326 dyslexic students among the 200,000 we enroll — a number observers say has to be wrong A northwest Harris County man has confessed to stabbing his mother and grandmother over the use of a car Friday The Harris County DA's office has opened an investigation into the sheriff's department over its secret surveillance of brothers who sued the department Oil closed above $129 a......

Red light camera tickets may be void based on a recent ruling Unemployment is up 8% in Texas compared to last year Astros' B.L.T. was no match for the division leading Cubs in the series opener at Minute Maid Be careful on the roadways, kids. People are getting killed all over the place. Local rapper Baby Jay receives key to the city for delivering positive message Luby's ends $5-off coupons due to internet scam Say goodbye to Forest......

If you're like Houstonist, then you can't wait until Monday for the Houston Astros, MLB's hottest team, to return to Minute Maid Park. So what are you going to do until then? You're going to pack your bags and truck it on up I-45 to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to see your beloved Astros this weekend, that's what! This will be the eighth year for the annual Lone Star Series with the winner taking home the coveted Silver Boot, which the Rangers currently own, in a best of six game......

Enron is asking for some of its money back, former employees who reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the ex-energy giant say Jurors are expected to hear closing arguments Monday in the punishment phase of the trial of Juan Leonardo Quintero The problems in the North Forest school district just keep coming: Now it's horror stories in special ed UH regents voted to raise tuition and fees by nearly 6 percent for next fall Ira Klein, an ex-Houston physician, admitted yesterday that he plotted to kill a federal prosecutor who tried him for......

In the face of overwhelmingly negative feedback from the Houston community regarding the use of public funds to construct a soccer-specific stadium on the east side of downtown, hardcore Houston Dynamo fans have literally put their money where their mouths are. The championship soccer club's owners, Anschutz Entertainment Group, have repeatedly solicited public funds from the city of Houston to defray the cost of building the stadium, a controversial request in a city whose taxpayers have helped to fund the construction of three other major league sports stadiums within the past ten years.......

Cancer survivor and energy tycoon Dan Duncan gifts M.D. Anderson with $35 million creating the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment "Yeah, I'd like a fill up and all the diamonds in your trunk." $1 million in jewelry is lifted from a salesman at a gas station. Look for a guy with four fingers Looks like the Liberty County sink hole [we call him Sir John] is done growing but FM 770 is still closed The Associated Press is reporting that Continental and United investigating forming an......

The state's first case of West Nile virus this year has been reported in northern Montgomery County Despite concerns from parents and the community, Key Middle School should stay open, HISD chief Abelardo Saavedra says Dustin Poe, the man accused of causing the death of Art Car Museum curator Tom Jones while driving drunk this weekend, has been ordered not to drive while he's free on bail Mayor White's $4 billion fiscal 2009 budget has an accent on safety, with funding for more police officers, patrol cars and helicopters Two Kingwood High School students apparently......

It's been a sad few months for those of us who grew up on local TV: Last summer, KTRK's Marvin Zindler died of pancreatic cancer, and today we heard that KPRC veteran Ron Stone has died at the age of 72. Stone, who spent more than 30 years on the air in Houston, also lost a battle with cancer. Stone anchored at KHOU before he moved to KPRC, where he manned the desk from 1972 to 1992. As sources told the Chronicle, he was known as......

Monday's edition of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Houston Police Department has been moderately successful in their latest venture to stop crime by curbing…shopping cart theft. Apparently, Grand Theft Shopping Cart is much more of a social problem than we gave could have conceived. According to HPD’s South Central Patrol Division, putting a stop to shopping cart theft is the first step to stopping more serious crimes. And here we thought we should be worried about neglectful parents and violence in the media. Reportedly costing grocery stores and pharmacies around $100......