Results tagged “intercontinentalairport”

The City of Houston recently announced plans to expand Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and split the cost with Continental Airlines. Upgrades on the docket include more parking, five times the square footage, more gates, improved access to Terminal A, blah, blah, blah. The list of improvements will shift during the anticipated ten year duration of the project. So, we'd like to offer a short list of things you (City of Houston & Continental) need to get right. But then, what do we know? more ›

Annie Savoy said, "...I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones...I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." Well, Annie, our church officially opens for business today when the St. Louis Cardinals pay a visit to our Houston Astros for Opening Day for the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Wandy E. Rodriguez gets the start. He's got no decisions in the season thus far with only five innings under his belt, but his numbers are OK - six strike outs, a walk, but four earned runs. Start warming up your "Hey, batta, batta!" after your three o'clock staff meeting. The ball club takes the field at 6:05 PM. more ›

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... more ›

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,"... more ›

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... more ›

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 blog is an extension of the ever-sarcastic Laurence Simon's enterprise, and it's called Fire Phil Garner. And has there ever been a better time to be snarky about the Astros? Regular features already include a "Least Valuable Player" award after each game, but our favorite part is the "IM IN UR DUGOUT LOSIN UR GAMEZ" subtitle. more ›

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... more ›

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 not sure what caused the ice to form. Maybe someone dropped a Big Gulp on the freeway. more ›

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... more ›

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, not grass ones). Hey, if free land won't bring in the settlers, something is seriously amiss! Purportedly, over a million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day, then only a one-state event. Word of how cool planting trees really is spread pretty quickly - considering there were no cell phones "back in the day". The tree-planting holiday was celebrated in every state by 1894. more ›

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 from the terminals," Capt. Rick Bownds with HPD's airport division said. "They were stolen as they were making connections through secure sections of the airport." more ›

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,... more ›

Hey, so — 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: more ›

With all the controversy over the University light rail line, it's easy to forget about all the controversy over the rapid transit line planned for the north side — unless, of course, you happen to live near it. But ">we could have word on a North Corridor alignment as early as this afternoon. Maybe. The North Corridor route would involve, at its southern end, a northward extension of the existing Red Line to the... more ›

We don't know if you've noticed lately, but some of the landscape you see as you're cruising down Houston's freeways is, ah, unappealing. It's something you hear people complain about every once in a while — particularly the collection of car lots, furniture stores, run-down strip malls and adult bookstores along the North Freeway, which provide a quick overview of Houston's attractions to people driving into town from Bush Intercontinental Airport. (We find the... more ›

KTRK is reporting that three Continental Airlines employees are being treated after being exposed to fumes coming from the cargo hold of an airplane at Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal C. Here's the story: The Continental employees were on a ramp to a plane shortly before 9:00am Friday when they suffered eye irritation from vapors coming out of a bag or box. The three workers were taken to a local clinic for medical treatment. HFD HazMat... more ›

If you're in the habit of sneaking through red lights, enjoy your lawless ways while you can: The installation of Houston's first 10 red-light cameras is almost finished, and the system is expected to go live Sept. 1. The cameras are located at Milam and Elgin, Brazos and Elgin, Pease at La Branch and Travis at Webster in Midtown; Richmond at Dunvale, Richmond at Hillcroft, Bellaire at Wilcrest and Harwin at Hillcroft on the southwest... more ›

If you were wondering where all that much-hyped heavy rain was yesterday, just wait: It could get here today. On Tuesday, the band of tropical moisture expected to come on shore and drench us stayed offshore, for the most part, meaning parts of Galveston County and far southeast Harris County got some substantial rain — more than 3 inches — while the rest of us were fairly high and dry. (Speaking of which, did anyone... more ›

Passengers at Bush Intercontinental Airport had a scare overnight when a fire broke out near a Taco Bell and filled Terminal C with smoke. The fire started around 3:30 a.m. and the building was evacuaed; though most of the people in the building were employees, a few passengers were forced to stand around outside while crews took care of the fire. "We thought it would be a good idea to get here early," Terry Brady, who was traveling to Philadelphia, told KPRC. "It wasn't, so we're standing out here with all our baggage." Correction: It's not a good idea to arrive early . Otherwise, we think it's OK. more ›

Houstonist didn't know whether to be scandalized or titillated when we read that passengers at Bush Intercontinental Airport will start getting puffed soon. But it turns out it's not that exciting at all: The airport is installing machines that will "puff" passengers with air to screen for explosives. Darn. more ›

We all learned from Patrick Dempsey that you Can't Buy Me Love, well that also applies to the love of your four legged friends. Even so, local multi-millionaire Bernard Aptaker has thrown caution to the wind and is donating 60 acres near George Bush Intercontinental Airport for creation of the Freedom Farm refuge to the Houston SPCA. The refuge will releave overcrowding at the current Portway St. 5 acre shelter that has been home... more ›

There was some drama at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Tuesday afternoon when a Continental Express jet had to make an emergency landing after blowing two tires on takeoff. The Embraer 145, which was carrying 45 passengers and three crew members, circled the airport for nearly two hours as officials tried to figure out what to do. more ›

So you're flying with your pet and you end up on a long layover — what do you do? If you happen to have a layover at Bush Intercontinental Airport (and we're not sure why you would if you're from Houston), you now have an option: Continental Airlines opened the country's first on-site airport pet kennel earlier this week. It's a 24-hour facility that's prepared to handle whatever pets come its way. "This is a... more ›

Seriously, people: When you're at the airport, just do the whole security thing like you're supposed to, all right? A security breach at Bush Intercontinental Airport yesterday delayed security screening and outbound flight at two terminals — and it was all because someone apparently got confused on an escalator. more ›

Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental Airport had to be shut down for an hour and a half today after a woman bypassed a security checkpoint. The woman, whose name wasn't released, went through security once and made it into the secure section of the airport reserved for passengers with tickets. She then left the secure area and returned, but didn't go through the security point again. more ›

Two endangered whales were sighted in Corpus Christi Bay, far from their usual winter hangout High winds today caused flights to be delayed at Bush Intercontinental Airport Employees at a northwest Harris County dump-truck factory found a colleague dead inside a hydraulic winch early this morning The Astros signed shortstop Adam Everett to a one-year, $1.9 million deal TxDOT: Flooding on the South Loop during Monday's rains wasn't our fault!... more ›

More details emerge as the news of Victoria Osteen's hissy on a Colorado-bound airplane spreads like wildfire across the globe. From the Houston Chronicle: At least some people aboard the Continental Airlines flight were less than pleased after waiting about two hours at Bush Intercontinental Airport while the Osteens left the plane and their luggage was removed, said a woman who witnessed the incident. "She was just abusive," said Sheila Steele, who said she was... more ›

A month before his federal trial on conspiracy and fraud charges, former Enron head Ken Lay accused prosecutors of riding a "wave of terror" in a speech today ConocoPhilips, Houston's largest company, will become even larger when it pays $35.6 billion to acquire Burlington Resources; the deal will make Conoco one of the biggest natural gas producers in the country Catcher Brad Ausmus signed a two-year, $7.5-million contract with the Astros A Continental flight from... more ›