Results tagged “lawsuits”

Good morning, Houston. How many of you knew what Monday was? Anyone? Anyone? That's right: It was the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To mark the anniversary, the nation had a little holiday, Constitution Day — but how many people actually knew about it? Not many, apparently: Though federal law says students at public high schools should be taught about Constitution Day, a recent survey of students found that...

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get...

It's news you might have missed, but late last month the FDA lifted a 14-year-old moratorium on silicone breast implants. Big deal? Yeah, potentially — many women prefer the softer, lighter-weight silicone implants to the saline implants that have been used for the past few years, and the move back to silicone could mean a boom for plastic surgeons in Houston, where fake boobs are unusually popular (our fair city even earned the nickname "Silicone...

Two of the four former mayor pro tem employees who were fired this spring, accused of giving themselves nearly $200,000 in unauthorized payraises and bonuses, testified before a grand jury yesterday — and though we don't know what happened in the grand jury session, prosecutors said the panel will consider bringing felony charges of tampering with a government record or theft by a public servant against the group. "We're trying to get this thing before...

City Council voted Wednesday to delay a potential suit against travel websites intended to make the services pay hotel occupancy taxes that fall through the cracks when people book hotel rooms online. The proposal was for the city to hire commercial litigation firm Gibbs & Bruns to investigate whether the city has a legitimate claim to the taxes, which are used to fund stadiums civic improvements. If it's hired, Gibbs & Bruns would represent the...

The ongoing legal battle isn't the only fallout of the Enron collapse for ex-Chairman Ken Lay: According to The New York Times, Lay may have to file for bankruptcy protection because his net worth has plummeted to less than $650,000, down from a high of $400 million when Enron was still flying high. Lay's fortune has been eaten away, sometimes piece by piece and sometimes in large chunks, by a variety of things: the company's...

Former Enron investor relations head Mark Koenig went on the defense yesterday as Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling's lawyers tried to attack his credibility by asking why he didn't get himself fired. Last week, Koenig testified to prosecutors that he helped artificially inflate Enron's profits to fool investors and analysts — and he said Lay and Skilling were active in that deception. Which left the natural question for the defense: Why didn't Koenig tell anyone,...

There's nothing quite like dueling museum exhibits — especially when they involve dead bodies. And Houstonians will have the chance to see both of them this year: Bodies: The Exhibition, which opens in mid-April at the Museum of Health & Medical Science, and Body Worlds, opening this summer at the Museum of Natural Science. The exhibits showcase preserved, skinned cadavers in various poses: playing chess, running, stretching and even holding their own skins as if...