Good morning, Houston. You might not remember it, but many local beaches used to be much wider than they are now — and soon, they'll be that wide again, thanks to a multimillion-dollar restoration project that's going to be announced today. The project will widen three miles of eroded beaches west of the Seawall in Galveston, Sylvan Beach in La Porte and other beaches in Surfside; the goal is to combat the erosion that's......

The party is at Rudyard’s tomorrow – you know - THE party. The Black Math Experiment’s CD Release Party for “All You Need is Blood”, at which a couple of other bands will be performing. La Sed will bring some progressive rock courtesy of Puerto Rico and Mk Ultra adds politically-minded psychedelic punk to the mix (political as in the song writing may focus on fighting military culture and the 9/11 conspiracy). This should be......

Good morning, Houston. Are you registered to vote? Do you need to make changes to your registration? Better take care of it fast: Today is the last day to register or alter your registration if you want to vote in the Nov. 6 elections. Voters in 34 jurisdictions will elect candidates this year, and the state has 16 bond issues on the ballot — and, of course, there are big-ticket items like HISD's $805......

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......

Movie buff? Military buff? Either way, today's Daily-ist has gotcha covered. Hey, we're here for YOU. Head dowtown tonight (yes, on a Tuesday) for The Heritage Society's a one hour special screening and discussion of the newest documentary to come from director and producer Ken Burns: The War. This seven-part series about the Second World War highlights the perspectives of a handful of ordinary American men and women who lived during this time. But, under......

Houston Artist Screens 9/11 Parallel Tale No matter how many years pass, uttering the phrase "September 11th" will always bring a somber reflection of memories from 2001. Whether you recall where you were, what you were doing on that day in history, we feel it is most important to do the most America activity possible. And, no, we're not talking about eating a hot dog, watching reality TV, while plotting the comeback of Britney Spears.......

GHCVB Mixer @ Buffalo Soldier's Museum Join the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau this afternoon as they host a monthly mixer at the Buffalo Soldier's Musuem. Dreadlock Rasta. Flash back through time watching Harriet Tubman and Buffalo Soldier reenactments while immersed in hundreds of historical Buffalo Soldiers' artifacts. Enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres from Frenchy's chicken and beverages from Silver Eagle distributors while networking with other GHCVB members. Please RSVP to Sam at sgaler@ghcvb.org. About......

The Houston Light Guard Armory, 3816 Caroline, is one of Houstonist's favorite buildings in town, with its brick and limestone facade, arched windows, relief panels and imposing main entrance. Unfortunately, the building has been abandoned since we can remember — which means its street facade is overgrown, its windows have been smashed and its front doors are boarded up. But that won't be the case for much longer if the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum has......

Love butterflies? Houstonist does too!!! (and frogs!) Saturday is all about the butterfly as the Cockrell Butterfly Center holds a butterfly adoption from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.. For the low, low price of $15/per person (which includes admission to the Butterfly Center) participants have the opportunity to release a butterfly into the Center. Every butterfly parent receives a certificate of adoption, a gift and a mention online! As if that weren't enough, there's more!!......

The unpopular proposal to double tolls on the Westpark Tollway during rush hour is officially dead: Harris County commissioners officially scrapped the plan Tuesday, meaning the price of the county's toll roads will remain the same — or won't, actually, given that a 25-cent increase on all toll transactions will still take effect on Sept. 3. The Westpark proposal, as we're sure you remember, called for toll transactions to double for inbound traffic between 6......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

As Spring teenager David Ritcheson's family heads to Mexico today to claim Ritcheson's body, a few details are emerging about when he jumped from a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday morning. Witnesses said Rtcheson climbed up a tower near the bow of the Ecstasy about 6:15 a.m., and moments later, ship crew members showed up and began trying to negotiate with him. Friends joined in — "What the [expletive] are......

After seeing a Polyphonic Spree concert, some people feel like they have a spiritual experience. Others just think it's silly. You can decide for yourself this Monday night when The Polyphonic Spree visit Warehouse Live (and congratulations to Anuj Patel for winning a pair of tickets, or the "free Spree" on us!) This video is from when the large band would wear white robes. Now, they've moved on to matching black military-styled uniforms. "Light......

There is no word from HISD yet on whether three schools, Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School, will open again next fall. HISD officials wouldn't discuss the issue, saying only that they're they're waiting on the Texas Education Agency to analyze students' test scores and decide whether or not these three campuses are "academically acceptable." The high schools are both located in north Houston, while McReynolds is east of downtown, just off......

If there's one thing we love, it's a good political faux pas. Houston Rep. Ted Poe delivered for us when he quoted a KKK leader on the House floor, and the entire blogosphere threw up a little bit in its mouth. You can view the video of Poe's comments here. According to Wikipedia, Nathan Bedford Forrest, whom Poe quoted, was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, but he is remembered largely for......

Free Artist Workshop at Lawndale Art Center Today's Daily -ist is actaully a double-header. So if your social calendar is packed like ours, you're in luck. There's another one tomorrow. Join Lawndale Studio Resident Donna Huanca as she creates a fabric collage mural in the Lawndale Project Space. Work along with Donna and learn concepts and skills such as conceptualizing vertically and in large-scale, as well as using fabric as a medium to communicate color......

KHOU's Jeff McShan had a much-publicized interview with Quanell X last night — and despite the indication that it would show us who Quanell X really is, we don't know all that much more now than we did before. The only thing that seems clear about Quanell X is that he's full of contradictions. In the interview with McShan, he recalled what he called a turning point in his life: a conversation he had with......

Here's a joke waiting to be told: What would soldiers and Marines want with silly string, bubble gum and pantyhose? Go ahead, take your best shot. We'll give you a second to think it over. (In the meantime, have you heard the one about the duck that walks into a drugstore ... ?) Seriously, though — the silly string, bubble gum and pantyhose were part of military supply kits that kids at Memorial Drive Elementary......

Houstonist is gearing you up for Houston Roller Derby! First, buy some Season Tickets. Second, head to RocBar tomorrow, say 6ish until 9ish and have a drink with the ladies of Houston Roller Derby. Yes, the Houston Roller Derby is having a Season Kick-Off Party. Bring your "A" game, cheesy suave pick-up lines, if you feel so compelled (good luck with that) and some folding money or really good plastic (the kind with available spending......

Bizarre news from Sharpstown Center: Yesterday afternoon, a security guard at the mall shot another security guard, then went to his car and shot himself in the head. Investigators are still trying to figure out exactly how it all started; fortunately, neither man died, and both are recovering at Ben Taub. According to police, the men had been arguing just outside the mall at about 3:45 p.m. when the shooter — an unidentified man thought......

So the question of what would happen to astronaut Lisa Nowak when her 30-day leave from NASA was over is answered: Nowak is now a former astronaut. Nowak, who is a Navy captain, will return to the military; NASA said the dismissal has nothing to do with her guilt or innocence on charges of trying to kidnap her romantic rival, but rather with the fact that the agency doesn't have the administrative system needed to......

Former Houstonian Daniel Joseph Maldonado has become the first American to be charged with joining terrorists in Somalia. Maldonado, 28, was arrested in Kenya last month and was ordered held without bond yesterday on charges that he trained with al-Qaeda to try to form an Islamic state in Somalia. According to the criminal complaint against Maldonado, he left Houston in November 2005 for Cairo; by December 2006, he was in Somalia, where he had been......

Did you know that Houston has more than 500 cultural, visual, and performing arts organizations? Neither did we. We did however suspect that something strange was going on when we heard Houston had the second largest Theater District in the nation. Houstonist feels like our artsy professor step dad just bench pressed 2,000lbs. The Orange Show for Visionary Arts is just one little guy in the multitude of Houston’s arts organizations, but Houstonist thinks if......

More on yesterday's drive-by shooting at Westbury High School: It might have been gang-related — but probably not in the way you're thinking. The family of 16-year-old Julian Ruiz, the student killed in the incident, told KHOU that they believe he was shot because he refused to join a gang. Ruiz's folks spoke through the ever-present Quanell X: "We believe that this killing has something to do with someone that he knew from the......

The Texas Department of Public Safety has plans to change the way Texans renew and change address information on their driver licenses. In fact, the licenses will have a complete makeover. According to KHOU, all changes will have to be made in person, which will cause an increase in the already-packed Motor Vehicle locations. Don't rush to make changes now, though - beginning in 2008, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will require everyone with......

The couple who called the cops the night of the infamous Two Gallants show at Walter's on Washington spoke to the Chronicle this weekend: Ryland and Scott Peveto, who own a Victorian shotgun house behind the club, say that the bass from Walter's is shaking their house — and their peace of mind. The Pevetos said when they bought the house a couple of years ago, noise wasn't much of an issue; now, though, the......

It’s nice outside today. Feels like a good day for a protest, right? Sure! They’re happening all across the country (we were tipped off by reading LAist). And sure enough, Houston is partaking in the trend. After all, we already established that we’re hip. It’s being organized by The World Can’t Wait. And if you’re “red”, this will not, we repeat, NOT be your cup of joe. However, if you’re more on the “blue”......

Houston-born artist Mel Chin will present his animated short 9-11/9-11 tonight at the MFAH. The film, which is still a work in progress, focuses on two different Sept. 11's: 2001 and 1973. We're well aware of the events on our soil on this day in 2001, but many may not be as familiar with Sept. 11, 1973, the day democracy died in Chile with the military coup of President Allende. Chin's animation looks at both......

The search for new recruits continues for HPD. The department is currently short about 700 police officers, a problem that has been ongoing for the past two years. During that period, the force lost many officers due to retirement. HPD’s goal is to have a total of 5,000 police officers by 2008. Their new marketing campaign is “The Badge Starts Here.” They’re offering sign-on bonuses and compensation near $50,000 for new certified officers with bachelor......

Eric Cooper's trial for tampering with a government document, which begins this week, could end up just being about a man accused of signing his name to his ex-wife's car title without permission. But it could also open the door to a lot of grief for Cooper, the guy a variety of ex-wives and girlfriends say is a smooth-talking con man who built relationships on lies. Either way, we bet it'll be pretty interesting. If......