Results tagged “katrina”

Indie/hip-hop fans will enjoy tonight's line up at Warehouse Live, headlined by Aesop Rock. Tomorrow night, check out local rock band Days Drive at Rudyard's. Originally from New Orleans, but transplanted to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, the Rebirth Brass Band always puts on a horn-filled funk show - catch them at the Meridian Friday night. Songwriter/guitarist Anne McCue lands at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar Saturday night. The alt/rock band Brand New is playing two...

Good morning, Houston. Here's one of those things that ended up selling for much more than we would have expected: A Rosenberg man bought a lock of Che Guevara's hair yesterday for $100,000. Bill Butler, a bookstore owner, was the only bidder; he said he collects items from the 1960s and that the hair will fit in well. "A lot of his writings are still worth reading today," Butler said of Guevara. Gustavo Villodo,...

Good morning, Houston. In the mood for a really, really bad promotional video? It's your lucky day: May we introduce you to "The Metro Report", a quasi-Colbert Report-style production in which a host, Elliot Roberts, "interviews people on the street" about why they love riding public transportation. Which makes us wonder: Where'd Metro find all these people? Oh, right, they're actually actors — and, according to KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino, this bit of self-promotion cost...

Houstonist recently kept you abreast of the “Humberto Incident”, where a low pressure system in the Gulf strengthened in less than 24 hours and slammed ashore, with sustainable wind gusts of 85 mph as a Category 1 hurricane, near High Island, causing power outages, localized flooding and wind damage. When storms give you little warning – the choice is already made for you to shelter in place. The media here is rife with preparedness information...

Our favorite at-work timewasters over at TMZ.com are reporting that Houston's pop/R&B princess herself has reunited with original Destiny's Child member Michelle Rowland to open an apartment building: The Knowles-Rowland Temenos Place Apartments, for people trying to improve their situations who might not otherwise have a place to live. Through her charity, the Survivor Foundation, Beyonce and her family are building and financing the building, which will be a 48 unit "short term to longterm...

Happy Hump Day, Houston! A reader's twitter reminded us that today is the two year anniversary of when that bitch Katrina rolled into the swamps of NOLA, giving us lots of new neighbors. If you are reading this as an Katrina evacuee, we are curious as to how you are finding our little town. Hopefully, Houstonist is helping to navagate you through all there is to do. Like this great event tonight. How about...

Triple Threat Edition So we couldn't decide on one event for tonight, so we're giving you three. We are so damn generous some times. Besides, this week has been so long we figured you needed an extra long Friday to make up for it. Well, of course there's the Txt Me L8r SPIN Party at HCP that we'll all be at. Two of your favorite Houstonist contributors (wait, you have favorites, right?) will be participating...

Callaloo, among the top literary magazines in the country, is sending four writers (all faculty from Callaloo's Creative Writing Workshops) to read in Houston for one night only. Terrance Hayes, Mat Johnson, Tayari Jones, and Tracy K. Smith will give a public reading Thursday, August 16 at 6:00 p.m. at the Ensemble Theatre, located at 3535 Main Street. These four writers have won more than a dozen national awards and fellowships; they are at...

Good morning, Houston. As we prepare for the rain chance to increase again — yeah, sorry, we hate to be the bearers of bad news — we're stopping for a second to realize just how much it's rained so far this month. Officially, we've had 8.34 inches of rain so far in July, smashing the 2.34-inch average for the month and making this the eighth-wettest July on record. And there's still a week left...

Well, here's something to be proud of: Houston's homicide rate is now the second-highest among large American cities, according to FBI figures released Monday. Keep in mind that this is the homicide rate we're talking about — Houston's was 18.2 per 100,000 residents last year, putting us second only to Philadelphia and ahead of Dallas (fifth place), which has had a higher homicide rate than Houston for each of the last 11 years. The numbers...

Happy June, everyone. Today is the first day of hurricane season, which might bring back some bad memories for some of you. But next time a hurricane's headed our way, the Chronicle reports that most of us shouldn't be so quick to blow this popsicle stand. During Rita, about 40% of households outside of the designated evacuation zones tried to leave Houston. Many residents who lived closer to the coast had an unnecessarily difficult time...

So it's been nearly two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans — and, according to the AP, about 5,500 heads of evacuee households in Houston are still unemployed. It's not that there aren't jobs available (city officials say there are 2 million job openings, 59,000 of which don't require a college education) or that the government isn't helping (the city has spent $1.9 million since the fall offering free résumé help, business clothing, job...

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...

Good morning, Houston. When we hear the words "concrete canoe," two other words come to mind: "doesn't float." But our instincts are wrong: Concrete canoes can be seaworthy, and one created by University of Houston engineering students floats so well that it's headed for the national concrete canoe competition in Seattle. The national contest is set for mid-June, and it could lead the team to a spot in the international competition in Holland in...

Opening Reception: Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston - Who We Are Art League Houston is pleased to announce the opening of its first micro exhibit, Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are, an installation of photographs and stories featuring Houston-based evacuees and survivors of the hurricanes, with photographs by Alice McNamara, April 30 – June 15, 2007. Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are is part of a much larger...

For the past 25 years, the Houston Area Survey, directed by Rice University Sociology Professor Stephen Klineberg, has been offering a timely window into the minds of Houstonians. The recently completed 2007 survey especially shows how Houston's attitudes reflect the changes in our post-Katrina city. This year, crime was the number one worry for Houston residents, but immigration is a fast-growing concern. For the second year, the number of people who believe that the racial...

More people made it through last month in Houston than last April, according to unofficial HPD statistics. This April recorded 30 homicides, compared to last year's 31. That brings the 2007 total to 119, also down from last year's 123. Within that number, only about 2 each month involved Katrina evacuees, compared to the 20% of last year's total number. But every silver lining has its dark cloud. While the number of homicides has decreased...

KHOU reports today on something that isn't exactly new, but is certainly new to us: In March, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange began offering contracts on hurricane futures — meaning individuals and companies can now bet on the probability of where and when a hurricane will hit. And it's not necessarily as bizarre as it sounds (assuming, of course, you have a pretty good idea of a hurricane's path). The CME started offering the hurricane futures...

More on the story of the city trying to take The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation's land: The Chronicle reports that advocates of The Center seem to have found supporters on City Council. To recap, the issue here centers on an agreement The Center worked out with former Mayor Lewis Cutrer in 1963 to lease the land at West Dallas and Shepherd for 99 years. Under the agreement, The Center would pay the city...

Good morning, Houston! Are you a fan of Texas wildflowers? Good news, then: Thanks to a rainy winter, wildflowers are blooming across Central Texas and in parts of North and East Texas. If you're planning a flower-spottin' trip, check out the latest reports of wildflower hotspots — and remember, though it's really not illegal to pick bluebonnets, TxDOT recommends that you refrain from driving into them. Dang. >> Katrina fraud galore: The AP reports...

The newest results of the annual Houston Area Survey are starting to appear, showing Houstonians' increasing wariness of lingering Katrina victims and the influence of immigration in the city, among other concerns. The survey, an annual pet project of Rice University Professor Stephen Klineberg, has been tracking city-wide trends of opinions and demographics since 1982. This year, February's results show that sixty-six percent of respondents deem the influx of Katrina refugees "a bad thing",...

Lindsay Perth is a transplanted Canadian artist who now resides in Scotland. She is one of the artists whose work is exhibited in the Never Been to Houston show. On the right is one of her photographs from the exhibit. Lindsay answered a few questions about Houston and the show for us. Read on: What was your perception of Houston before you started this project? My perception was of lots of glass and reflections and...

Good morning, Houston. We don't know about you, but we at Houstonist have long been fans of Willie Nelson. And so, apparently, has local rapper/promoter/jeweler Paul Wall: Wall tells MTV News that he booked time at Nelson's studio to record his new album, Get Money, Stay True because he thought he would run into the Red-Headed Stranger while he was there — but alas, there was no Willie for Wall. "I didn't get a...

In what the mayor's spokesman has called "an award that recognizes what tens of thousands of Houstonians participated in," Mayor White has been honored with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his work to help the tens of thousands Katrina and Rita evacuees that fled to Houston. The award is named after JFK's Pulitzer Prize-winning book and annually recognizes Americans who have demonstrated commitment and contribution to public service. It is the...

Galveston is hosting the 23rd Mardi Gras of its modern era while New Orleans krewes roll for the second time P.K. (Post Katrina). Dedicated lunatics have been slowly building up their Mardi Gras revelry since the twelfth night after Christmas - the official start of the carnival season. But, the highest concentration of the most celebrated Mardi Gras parades, balls and general debauchery lands this weekend. Attendance for events in both cities is expected to...

With over a year elapsed since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is still dealing with the aftermath of the storm. Despite efforts to rebuild, according to statistics reported by the nation's top three moving companies, more people moved out of the area than moved in last year. The city's population seems to have stagnated at around half it's pre-Katrina 455,000, falling far short of Mayor Ray Nagin's prediction of 300,000 by the end of last year....

Looks like as long as you can keep from winning the lotto, you can also keep from getting killed. Last month, the city recorded only 24 homicides, down 20 percent from January 2006. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said that he attributes the decline to HPD's heavy targeting of several hot spots in the city, but indicated that the cold weather might have had something to do with the decline as well. Hurtt hopes to...

Good morning, Houston. Did you feel particularly down in the dumps yesterday? There's a good reason for it, according to Dr. Cliff Arnal, a psychologist at Cardiff University: Arnal has named Jan. 22 the most depressing day of the year, what with the gloomy weather, post-holiday bills and failed new year's resolutions. But here's a reason to cheer back up: Today is National Pie Day! If anyone needs us, you know where we'll be...

In the late 90's, one of the most popular regular live acts to catch around town were The Suspects. Their brand of ska got many parties started throughout the 90's, whether they were playing a private party, Fitzgerald's, Continental Club, or the Buzzfest. They broke up five years ago, but have gotten back together for a reunion show tomorrow night at the Continental Club. It's a one time thing – you don't want to miss...

A 4-year-old boy was killed Wednesday afternoon when a gate at his apartment complex fell on top of him, a freak accident for which officials are still searching for a cause today. It happened at about 5 p.m. yesterday at the Las Palmas Apartments at ; according to reports, 4-year-old Ronkeith Leroy Andrews and his 5-year-old sister were walking past the gate when the gate suddenly fell, crushing Ronkeith.