Baseball's most self-pitying franchise is at it again. The Chicago Cubs are pissed at the Astros for the players that the Astros sent out to play against the Brewers this week. The Cubs and Brewers are locked in a struggle for the NL Central title, with the Brewers currently on top; baseball courtesy dictates that the Astros field their best team against the Brewers, so as not to hand them "cheap" wins. It's a supposed......

Art Institute of Houston Poetry Forum Kickoff Borders Books and The Art Institute of Houston offer a monthly Poetry Reading Series at Borders River Oaks, hosted by Ken Jones, instructor at The Art Institute of Houston. The readings are the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Borders River Oaks at 3025 Kirby Drive at the corner of West Alabama. These monthly poetry events are free, open to the public, and part of......

We're starting to reconsider our plan to apply for a job as a Metro bus driver: On Tuesday, two men attacked a bus driver after arguing with her over the fare, marking the second assault on a Metro driver this week. According to the Chronicle, the men — who appeared inebriated — got into a dispute over fares with the driver and made a threat against her, then walked back into the bus. About 10......

Although Carlos Lee was selected as the Astros' lone representative for the 78th annual MLB All-Star game, Houstonians can change that. Roy Oswalt was selected as one of five National League players vying for the final spot. For the season, Oswalt is 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA. His season has had its ups and downs with the Astros defense and bullpen blowing more than its share of games. On Tuesday, Roy pitched seven solid......

The road to 3,000 hits the Bayou City starting today with a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. And Craig Biggio is salivating at the opportunity to make history at home. Against the Rockies, Biggio owns a .347 average, the best of any opponent. On Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Biggio recorded career hit 2,997 against Claudio Vargas in the third inning; a single to left field. Biggio Fact of the Day: In 1987,......

So all day yesterday, we heard people complaining about about the Harris County commissioners' proposal to raise the cost of using the county toll road system — and we even added our two cents. But is the rate increase a done deal? No, according to KHOU, which reports that commissioners approved a "toll-setting policy" on Tuesday, with the actual toll increase decision still to come in another vote. Or yes, according to KTRK, which says......

Astros trying fail to stand on rockie ground There is no denying that the Astro’s have hit (what we hope is) their low this season. On Tuesday, both Lance Berkman and manager Phil Garner were ejected from the game after Carlos Lee was intentionally appeared to be hit by a pitch from the Colorado Rockies Manuel Corpas. Luckily the Astros managed a 2 run ninth inning rally to win that game and end a......

Looks like The Woodlands is a step closer to being a real city: On Tuesday, the state Senate approved a piece of legislation that will give The Woodlands the ability to extend a sales and property tax district throughout the community. If it's approved by Gov. Rick Perry, the bill could lessen the property tax burden of Woodlanders Woodlandites Woodlandonians Woodlands residents. The bill, along with one Perry signed last week enabling The Woodlands to......

Good morning, Houston. We're sure thieves will think twice before trying to rob 85-year-old Lena Williamson: On Tuesday Williamson's crime-fighting friends had a man arrested after he stole her wallet. It happened after Williamson's car broke down as she was leaving a Woodforest Bank branch at Woodforest and Uvalde; she asked a man for help in fixing the car, but instead of giving her help, he took her wallet and ran off. Fortunately, Williamson......

Good morning, Houston. If anyone out there's looking for a show idea to pitch to MTV, may we suggest The Real World: Monsatery? Based on the statements of Hugh Brian Fallon, a monk from Blanco, The Christ of the Hills monastery would fit right in with the Real World drama: Fallon told authorities that fellow monk Samuel Greene encouraged sex among the monks, offered people marijuana when they were having problems and faked tears......

One week after a northeast Houston office building fire that killed three people and injured several more, investigators are finally getting the chance to take an up-close look at the damaged portion of the building in hopes of finding out where and how the fire began. The investigation has been delayed because the building, at 9343 North Loop East, was structurally weakened by the fire that destroyed its top two floors; crews have been working......

Good morning, Houston. If you loved the DeLorean DMC-12 — and who didn't? — you might be interested to know that what's left of the DeLorean Motor Co. (basically, the name and the logo) is now headquartered in Humble. And the company's vice president, James Espey, is hoping to collect former De Lorean employees' into a book, I Lived the Dream: Stories From Those Who Built the DeLorean Sports Car. This summer, the DeLorean......

Good morning, Houston. After almost two weeks of clouds and rain, we were starting to wonder if we might be getting seasonal affective disorder — we stuck our head under our desk lamp for a while, but it didn't seem to help. Needless to say, we're really happy to see the sun this morning. But not, you know, this happy. >> Another DeLay?: The Travis County District Attorney's office is appealing a court decision......

This is not a good week for daycares in the Houston area (or at least the kids in daycare). On Tuesday we told you about a pastor's wife that tied the kids to chairs. Today, we find out that a daycare we told you about last week is getting shut down. According to the Chronicle, Dear's Day Car Center, which is less dear after this week, was shut down by the Texas Department of Family......

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? Londonist votes for better skincare, alternative spaces for art, cute little birds and the men who keep them, and concrete. Lots of concrete. Shanghaiist votes for one of the Bee Gees and Air Supply (it's a double-ticket),......

More on the case of Juan Leonardo Quintero, accused of shooting HPD Officer Rodney Johnson to death last week: In an interview in a Harris County jail, Quintero said he couldn't explain what happened when Johnson was shot Thursday, saying only that he "got scared" after being pulled over in a traffic stop. Johnson pulled Quintero over for speeding Thursday afternoon near Hobby Airport and decided to arrest him after he discovered Quintero had no......

With tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast, Houstonians are well aware of the effect that it had on our neighbors. Many of these neighbors have now become neighbors, literally. Non-profit organization Share Our Strength has teamed up with American Express to sponsor Restaurants for Relief 2. On Tuesday, if you dine at one of the participating restaurants, a portion of your bill will go to help feed those affected by Hurricane Katrina.......

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......

Well, the good news is that it probably won't flood tomorrow, so it looks like we may be home free when it comes to barbecuing, swimming and setting off explosive devices in celebration of our freedom. The bad news is that it could flood today. But, you know, what can you do? An upper-level low over West Texas is expected to combine with tropical moisture in the Gulf today to create a band of storms......

The next time you check a book out from the Sterling Municipal Library in Baytown, you're really going to want to make sure you return it on time. If not, you could be arrested, like Joanne Ibarra was on Tuesday. It's not like the police were hunting Ibarra down, but when she was pulled over for a traffic violation, the officer ran her record and found an outstanding warrant for a long-overdue library book. Ibarra......

Judge Sim Lake and the lawyers in the Enron trial met yesterday to agree on the legal instructions Lake will give the jury Monday, which include a charge to consider whether ex-Enron Chairman Ken Lay and ex-CEO Jeff Skilling were "deliberately ignorant," ignoring warnings about improper conduct at the company, or whether they acted on a "good faith" intention to fulfill their duties. Lay lawyer Michael Ramsey, back in court this week after five weeks......

As the defense began presenting its case in the trial of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling this morning, one of the key defense lawyers was missing from the courtroom. Mike Ramsey, Lay's lead attorney, was undergoing tests related to a stent that was inserted in his chest March 24. On Tuesday, Ramsey is scheduled to undergo an inasive procedure so doctors can check on the stent; a spokeswoman for Lay said he hopes to be......

With all the news about the Enron trial these days, it's easy to overlook other places where the wheels of justice are turning — for example, the trial of Mark Douglas Gilliland, a Houston plastic surgeon accused of seriously injuring two women on a Galleria-area sidewalk in a hit-and-run last year. Testimony in Gilliland's trial began today with prosecutors saying the doctor was "rip-roaring drunk" the night the accident occurred. The story is that Gilliland......

Prosecutors rested their case against former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling yesterday, asking Judge Sim Lake to drop three charges against Skilling and one against Lay. The dropped charges against Skilling concern a 2000 deal, Project Greyhawk, which prosecutors say the ex-Enron CEO and others created to take advantage of an anticipated jump in Enron's stock price. But to prosecute those allegations, the government would have had to get into the business of......

Defense lawyer Daniel Petrocelli went after ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow yesterday, trying to cast doubt on Fastow's previous testimony about the company's shady side financial deals and former CEO Jeff Skilling's involvement in them. It was Fastow's second day of cross-examination in the trial of Skilling and ex-Enron Chairman Ken Lay. On Tuesday, Fastow had testified about a "global galactic list" he made in 2000 to keep track with all Enron's side deals, which he......

During his second day on the witness stand, former Enron Broadband Services head Ken Rice said his company might have had potential to perhaps succeed, maybe, sometime in the future if it had survived Enron's 2001 collapse. On his first day on the stand, prosecutors focused Rice largely on what was wrong at the company. On Tuesday, Rice said he and Skilling misrepresented the financial health of the failing broadband business to help a stock......

Monday and Tuesday morning, why not ride to work with gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell? No, he's not going to be your driver — he's not that desperate for votes yet — but he will be guest host of the Brent Clanton Show on Biz Radio 1320 AM. Tomorrow, Bell will moderate a discussion on immigration reform with Houston City Councilman Gordon Quan and International Bancshares Chairman Dennis Nixon and will talk to Dr. Ralph Dittman,......