Last Friday night's 3rd Annual Light Rail Pub Crawl was our most successful one yet. Over 60 folks gathered at The Flying Saucer to kick-off things at 5:30. Next, we headed to the reborn Leon's Lounge in Midtown - arriving and departing before the Vinyl Ranch crowd rocked the house with their country vibe. By the time we arrived at Tacos a Go-Go for belly filling, our crawl had grown to include upwards of 85 folks that packed both Tacos and Big Top Lounge.
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Results tagged “lightrail”
So dodge Lumbergh and get the hell out of the office. See you upstairs at Flying Saucer at 5:30! The first round is on us if you show up soon.
The 3rd Annual Light Rail Pub Crawl rolls through Downtown and Midtown this Friday evening. Here's the inside scoop on our TENTATIVE schedule. And by TENTATIVE we mean "subject to change because we're having a great time at a place and don't want to leave or because the trains are slow." However, you should be aware that we run a tighter ship as the evening progresses because the frequency of the trains slows down.
The 3rd Annual Light Rail Pub Crawl rolls through Downtown and Midtown this Friday evening. In the immortal words of Tommy Boy, "Get ready to live!" Don't worry. It'll be more fun than cow tipping with much less risk of faceplanting in a cow pattie.
Photos from our 2008 Light Rail Pub Crawl
According to Houston METRO's new fare system, today marks the end of free transfers for cash paying customers. METRO introduced the fare structure and the Q Card to the community on January 2nd.
Happy bissextile day, Houston. If you're reading this from jail — we're actually not even sure if you can use the Internet in jail — well, don't feel alone: According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, 1 of every 100 American adults are behind bars today. The good news: Texas is one of the states that has tried to slow the growth of its inmate population through community supervision of low-risk offenders and alternative punishments for some former prisoners who violate parole and probation rules. Inmate populations increased in 36 states and the federal prison system last year, the report says.
Each week Houstonist checks out the Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting.
Good morning, Houston. Remember the plans for the Dynamo stadium on the east side of downtown? And remember Metro's plans for two new light rail lines heading out from the east side of downtown? Turns out there's a question about whether the stadium will be in the way of the rail lines — and it's not clear yet whether the proposed stadium will have an effect on the rail alignments. "We are evaluating a number of options. Any proposed solutions will be part of the ongoing process with the FTA. We do not expect this to affect the timetable for construction," Metro spokeswoman Sandra Salazar told the Chronicle. Metro maps — which Salazar said are being revised — show the East End and Southeast rail lines routed along Capitol Avenue, which runs through a site the Chronicle reported that the city and Dynamo are looking to buy for the stadium.
Good morning, Houston. 'Tis the season for strange missing persons reports: In Tyler, the latest individual to go missing is a 42-foot-tall snowman. The inflatable snowman was last seen at a Tyler tree farm Friday night; the tree lot's owner, Royce Wisenbaker, told the AP that he believes it was hoisted over a fence and carted away. The snowman is worth about $10,000, and a $1,000 reward has been posted for information leading to...
Houstonist is two years old. We have made great strides during our second year. We are proud to have showcased the city and the work of many talented photographers during 600 sq mi. And, we are also proud and very relieved to have safely hosted over 60 folks on the Light Rail Pub Crawl. Thanks to our 11 veteran readers and our one new recruit. We love you. You're the jam in our jelly...
Good morning, Houston. How better to end the week than with a little soul searching — and when better to do it than on Evaluate Your Life Day? Yeah, we know, it used to take hours (days, even) to find your true self, but the good news is that you can get things taken care of much more quickly these days: using online quizzes, you can figure out whether you're CEO material, which celebrity's...
Good morning, Houston. There's a new weapon in the battle to make Houston the most beautiful city in America: Beginning next week, commercial property owners will have to hide their Dumpsters behind a building, wall, fence, berm or shrub. Officials said they hope the rule — which City Council approved six months ago — will help increase property values and make properties safer (and, of course, prettier). Anyone who violates the ordinance can be...
Unless you've been hiding under a rock out in the suburbs (no judgment!) you probably have already heard about this Saturday's 11th Annual Museum District Day. If you haven't, well look at us telling you something you don't know about! Yep, folks, that's what we're here for. Here's your chance to view gallery upon gallery of Houston's finest art, all for the low, low price of FREE. Saturday, August 18th, from 10am-5pm, 14 Houston museums...
So the Draft Environmental Impact Study for Metro's proposed University light rail line has been released — a lot of information that a lot of people will be poring over. Fortunately, Christof at Intermodality has a summary of the DEIS for the line's western segment already, and here's what he found: There are three alignment options for the Main-to-Hillcroft segment of the University Line: Richmond to Cummins to Westpark, Richmond to Greenway to Westpark, and...
Google recently announced two exciting new features. One is street view, a new feature of Google Maps, which allows you to see street-side views of locations in many major cities. Right now, the feature is available only in San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver, and there are plenty of interesting things to be seen, aside from the feature being helpful if you're traveling to a new location. Google has also started incorporating...
Those of you who ride the MetroRail regularly might be interested in reports today of two near collisions caused when trains were running on the wrong tracks. Both happened earlier this month, six days apart; the good news is that no passengers were in danger. More or less.
There was a hearing yesterday on a request from a Richmond Avenue resident and business owner to order Metro officials to testify about its transit expansion plans, but there was no ruling — yet. Daphne Scarborough, an outspoken opponent of proposals to run a light rail line down Richmond, filed the motion in mid-April seeking information about the University Line alignment, Metro's substituting buses for trains on some of its proposed new transit lines, how...
The Metro board approved a $77.3 million agreement yesterday that's a step toward construction of four new rapid transit lines — the first step in a construction project that's estimated to cost more than $1 billion. Under the contract, Washington Group Transit Management Co. will begin work on the early design and construction of four transit corridors: north, from UH-Downtown to Northline Mall; southeast, from downtown to Palm Center; East End, from downtown to...
The consensus of people at an urban planning workshop on the Main Street corridor Monday? In short: It needs to be more urban. The Planning Partnership, a Toronto firm hired to create a development plan for Main Street, held the workshop, which was meant to get the public's input on how to guide future construction along the corridor. Because the MetroRail line is already in place and major buildings already stand along Main, planning will...
Urban Corridor Planning is a City of Houston initiative that "will change how the City regulates development and designs its streets and other infrastructure in order to create a high quality urban environment in areas along METRO’s light rail and guided rapid transit corridors." The results of UCP's Phase I can be seen here. Now it's time to begin the next phase, and the city is all but begging for your input. The kick-off workshop...
Metro has issued a response to the legal action taken by rail opponent Daphne Scarborough, and it's a pretty strong-willed statement. They call this measure a "fishing expedition" because Scarborough did not file a lawsuit, she filed a "section 202 motion," hoping that a judge will grant the authority to start "fishing" for evidence against Metro, with the intent to file a lawsuit later on. Here is an excerpt from Metro's response, but the full text is online here:
Ubiquitous Richmond Avenue rail opponent Daphne Scarborough has pulled out a new weapon in her fight against the light rail expansion that she says would destroy her livelihood and her street: Scarborough has sued Metro, claiming that the transit agency has broken a "contract with the voters" established by the 2003 passage of the Metro Solutions referendum. Scarborough's focus in the suit isn't solely the contentious Richmond light rail alignment, but that's certainly a part of it: The suit claims that Metro has isn't complying with the terms of the referendum because the western section of the proposed University light rail line won't run totally on Westpark. Scarborough said she's filing suit because she has tried to talk with Metro for three years and has gotten nowhere: "I can't seem to get any straight answers," she said.
Good morning, Houston. We're gonna be honest with you — it's Friday, we're ready for the weekend and we want to get right to the news. But first, there's something that's been bothering us all week: this thoroughly bizarre on-air exchange between soon-to-be KHOU anchor Lucy Noland and Fox News morning team Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy. Seriously, what's up with this? Ms. Noland, we can assure you that Greg Hurst will never use...
More on yesterday's news that Metro is now in the business of land investing: According to county tax officials, the transit agency could end up having to pay taxes on two blocks of Midtown property it's holding for a private developer for several months. Metro's board approved the purchase of the property in question, a two-block, $7.2 million parcel bordered by Main, Holman, Travis and Winbern, on March 22. The seller is developer Robert H. Schultz's RHS Interests, which plans a mixed-use development for the site. RHS can buy the property back from Metro within a year for $7.2 million; for six months after that, the price will be $7.2 million plus interest; and after 18 months, Metro may do whatever it wants to with the property. For Schultz, the deal has two big benefits: The price of the land is locked for 12 months — and during that time, while Metro is holding onto the property, he won't have to pay taxes on it.
The Houston Farmers' Market might be moving into new digs, according to Stories from a Houston Life. Rumor has it that the popular Rice Village-area market could be making the jump to the stadium parking lot at Rice University as early as April 3. We loved how prominently Houston's farmers' markets are featured in Hot Town, Cool City and we're excited to see them expanding. The Rice Village Houston Farmers' Market is currently housed in...
Good morning, Houston. If you live anywhere along the proposed University light rail line, here are a couple of chances to express your opinion on the choo-choo, pro or con: Metro will hold public meetings today and tomorrow. The first, from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight, will be at the Renaissance Hotel at Greenway for folks along the west end of the line (between West Alabama, Main Street/Wheeler Station, Bissonnet and the Hillcroft Transit...