We don't know about you, but Houstonist would do almost anything to get through airport security faster. It's not that we don't value the level of security we're getting — trust us, we'd much prefer taking our shoes off to being aboard an exploding aircraft — but we'll admit that we do get frustrated by other travelers who apparently haven't heard a word about the increased restrictions the rest of us have been dealing with......

Good morning, Houston. Want to hear something weird? Investigators say a North Texas man had a stolen bone implanted in his neck. The man, Jim Livingston, had a herniated disk in his neck; in 2005, a surgeon replaced it with a small bone from a donor. Everything was fine until last year, when Livingston got a call informing him that the bone was believed to have been stolen from a body at a funeral......

Good morning, Houston. In case you didn't hear yesterday, we'll soon see the end of an era in air travel: Beginning Oct. 2, Southwest Airlines will assign passengers a place in line based on the order in which they check in. That means no more of the airline's (in)famous "cattle call" boarding process, which means there's no longer any point in arriving at the airport 16 hours early to get in the A group......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Houston, A Top 10 High Tech City According to Popular Science, Houston is ranked #10 in high tech cities. Popular Science ranked cities based on 36 technology indicators as well as expert and staff opinions. The best part of this survey is that Houston outranked Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Richard Yoo and Hush Labs Richard Yoo and Hush Labs were recently featured in The Houston......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor darkhairedgirl. This fantastic perspective shot was taken near Hobby Airport. Great capture. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 345 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here. For more great photography check out the Houston Photobloggers.......

We're not sure if you've noticed, but it's rained a lot lately. No, really. And the persistent showers are hurting more than our mood: They're also taking a bite out of local businesses. Across the area, people aren't getting concrete poured, they're not getting their lawns mowed, they're not buying plants or playing golf or getting their roofs repaired — and for business owners, that means a tough few weeks. "This weather is killing us,"......

Good morning, Houston. Did you happen to be in the West U. area last night? If so, maybe you noticed the train derailment in the area, which prompted the evacuation of a handful of houses and the closure of a section of Bissonnet Street. The derailment, which involved seven cars, happened on the Union Pacific line near the corner of Community and Judson; four of the cars were carrying wheat and lumber, and another......

So we're three-quarters of the way through June — and in case you haven't noticed, it's powerful warm out there. But is it really hotter this June than it has been in previous years? As a matter of fact, it is, reports the Chronicle's Eric Berger: The temperatures so far this month have been two degrees above normal, and it looks like that's not going to change this weekend, when the skies are expected to......

So this is kinda cool: Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports are the first airports in the world to have mobile threat containment units — basically, bomb-proof trash cans — that can be used to get suspicious carry-on baggage safely away from passengers without shutting down the airport terminal. The units, which in all fairness bear little resemblance to actual trash cans, are manufactured by the British company Aigis Blast Protection. The circular containers weigh around......

So the next time you are flying your private jet into Houston after a “rockstar” weekend with Jay-Z you will have a new choice in landing spots. Houston Executive Airport, located off of Highway 90 just west of Katy, is set to break ground on the Henriksen Jet Center facility. The two-story facility will have a passenger lobby, pilot lounge, theater room and office / meeting rooms and is set to open in 2008. Houston......

Good morning, Houston. If you're a fan of the Early Show, you probably caught Mayor White's national television appearance Monday morning. He appeared on the show seated between two foxy ladies, Caroline Kennedy and Doris Voitier, to discuss his receipt of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Like we told you before, he and Mrs. Voitier are sharing the award for their outstanding public service during and after Hurricane Katrina. This award......

Hello, Houston! This week we saw two very exciting, and very different, local blogs hit the ground running. The first is the Woodside Village Blog, the aim of which is to discuss the goings-on in Woodside Village, which includes several southwest Houston neighborhoods. Read the introductory post to learn more. We find ourselves wondering why this blog isn't called Woodside Village-ist (WVist?), but it's interesting, especially if you're familiar with the area. The other new......

The Chronicle's Matt Stiles and KTRK's Miya Shay reported earlier this week on the "courtesy" program that allows certain local elected officials to park free at Houston's airports, noting that more than 100 city officials, state legislators and members of Congress have racked up around $100,000 in free parking under the perk. Officials have been offered the free parking since the 1980s; it's intended for use during official business, but some of the instances were......

Hey, guess what? It rained again yesterday — and we mean a lot, in case you didn't notice. Not only was there a bunch of rain, but also high winds and hail of all varieties: "I got a lot of reports of hail — pea-sized, marble-sized, from Sugar Land to Tomball out toward Pasadena, Hobby Airport, League City — dime-sized hail is being reported there," KPRC meteorologist Frank Billingsley said. Most areas reportedly got 1......

Another night, another series of strong storms: This time, we had isolated reports of 50 mph winds and hail, with a possible tornado reported near Bush Intercontinental Airport. Otherwise, though, things weren't nearly as bad as they could have been except for a couple of incidents: In north Harris County, several cars were stalled on a North Freeway feeder road around 10 p.m. when as much as four inches of rain fell in a short......

We're pretty sure all of you (or at least those of you who are in or around Houston) heard the storms that came through town Monday morning. We remember thinking it sounded like bricks were falling out of the air — and at one apartment complex in southwest Houston, it seems they actually were. According to KTRK, the storm caused a wall at the Pipers Crossing complex near Sandpiper and West Airport to collapse, damaging......

Yep, it sure is cold this morning — at least for Houston, and frankly, that's enough for us. The temperature hit 28 degrees downtown overnight, tying the record set in 1951, but other spots broke the record: Bush Intercontinental Airport with a low of 27, Conroe and Sugar Land with lows of 23 and Brenham with a low of 19. We heard about one traffic accident this morning that was blamed on ice, but we're......

We've heard a lot about opposition to Metro's planned University light rail line, but it's not the only one that's generating controversy: Yesterday, a group of northside residents marched on City Hall, following the route of the proposed northside GRT line, to oppose what they say is Metro deviating from ballot language and condemning property like crazy. Sound familiar? "They misled the community by having North Hardy on the ballot," protester Mario Umanzo told......

Houston is having one hell of an Arbor Day and you too can be a part of it (you just have to get your hands a little on the dirty side). Arbor Day was established in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska. It seems that the Nebraska Territory was not readily settled, due to the lack of trees on the tallgrass prairie (the better to build and heat cabins - log cabins,......

What's up with Continental this week? Yesterday we heard about the pilot pilot who had a heart attack at the controls, and then there was the Continental flight that was delayed because of a bomb threat. The threat, which was delivered by voice mail, was against a twin turboprop plane bond from Tyler to Bush Intercontinental. Tyler Regional Airport manager David Dickson said his staff heard the message Monday morning; the plane landed at Bush......

If you've got an opinion, city council wants to hear it. Starting tonight with M.J. Khan, city council members will be hosting public meetings to garner comments on the city's budget for 2008, the 2008-2013 Capital Improvement Plan, and the 2007 Annual Consolidated Plan. Houstonist highly encourages participation in local politics. Since 1984, city councilmembers have held these meetings annually to hear comments from their constituents about the city's budget and needed improvements. Citizen Request......

Good morning, Houston! If you leave the house this morning, expect wrecks everywhere — the freezing rain and freezing bridges everyone's been talking about finally hit last night. If we were TV news, we'd have one of those flashy "Winter Storm" graphics and some super-serious music — but we're not, so: >> The ice cometh, man: Basically, here's the situation: It's cold and people are crashing into each other all over the city. Road......

Houstonist's new year's resolution: More shelterporn in 2007! To kick things off, we take you to this ultra-cool house in Glenbrook Valley, the jet-era neighborhood along Broadway just north of Hobby Airport. Because we have a soft spot for mid-century modern homes, Glenbrook is one of our favorite neighborhoods in Houston (and we've shelterporned there before, in case you've forgotten). The house — which has only had two owners since it was built in......

Police have arrested five men in connection with the theft of dozens of pieces of luggage from Bush Intercontinental Airport — and they say it was all an inside job. The five men worked for Menzies Aviation Group, a British company that provides luggage handling and ground services for Bush and several other U.S. airports, so they were in an ideal position to pick off a few bags here and there. "These were not stolen......

All this week we're featuring our favorite photos from a year of great contributions to the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. They're all our favorites in different ways, but there were four that stood out as jewels amongst the gems. This shot is from phototainable, another frequent contributor and an excellent photographer. We fell in love with this photo the moment we saw it. Maybe it's because of our love of old firetrucks, maybe it's......

Over the next two years, city officials hope to spend $105 million to upgrade 6,000 apartments near Hobby Airport and on the southwest side, a move they hope will attract stable tenants and new business investment to shoddy neighborhoods — and reverse urban decay. Who knew the secret to improving Houston's neighborhoods was interior decorating? "We have many good people living in these projects," [interim city housing director David] Mincberg told the City Council. "They......

Good news for one of our favorite works of art in Houston: Jay Baker's "Light Spikes," the collection of eight 24-foot-high flag pillars created for the 1990 Economic Summit. The pillars originally stood in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, but were moved to Intercontinental Airport when the summit ended — and they've remained there ever since, sitting alongside the airport's main drive. Problem is, the work was never intended to be permanent,......

Hey, so brr — it's kinda chilly outside this morning, at least for Houston: 48 degrees at Intercontinental Airport even as we speak. It's kinda nice, unless you happen to be a big fan of 100-degree weather (and we're not). But no matter what kind of weather you like, there should be something for you this week: Today and Tuesday Looks like today will be one of those days that makes us jealous of......

More on the case of Juan Leonardo Quintero, accused of shooting HPD Officer Rodney Johnson to death last week: In an interview in a Harris County jail, Quintero said he couldn't explain what happened when Johnson was shot Thursday, saying only that he "got scared" after being pulled over in a traffic stop. Johnson pulled Quintero over for speeding Thursday afternoon near Hobby Airport and decided to arrest him after he discovered Quintero had no......

Juan Leonardo Quintero, the man accused of killing HPD Officer Rodney Johnson during a traffic stop last week, is scheduled to appear in court today — but Quintero's case may have farther-reaching effects than his own fate as it again brings up discussion of Houston's immigration policy. First, what we know about the shooting Thursday afternoon: Johnson had pulled Quiintero over for driving 50 mph in a 30 mph zone near Hobby Airport. Because Quintero......