Results tagged “shipchannel”

Houston's cityscape has changed drastically since the photo below was taken by Dmitri Kessel in 1946; one would expect nothing less from a city that's continually reinventing itself, erasing its own history and creating new futures with each passing day.

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor OneEighteen.

Good morning, Houston. Time to flex your democratic muscle again: Early voting begins today for the Nov. 6 election. You can check out a map of early voting locations here and get more information on where and how to vote from the Harris County elections website — so now, you can't say you haven't been informed. See you at the polls! >> For some, a flood of bad news: If you're a property owner...

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...

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor espngo.

Good morning, Houston. Where do you go when you want to get away? The Chronicle asked some of its readers that and published their answers Friday — and it's not such a bad list, with day trips, museums and natural attractions. (Also on the list: the mausoleum at Forest Park Westheimer cemetery, which definitely takes a certain kind of person to enjoy.) The suggestion we're most interested in checking out is ex-state Rep. Debra...

Good morning, Houston. We're regular NPR listeners, and we enjoy it as much as the next guy when legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg gives us another thrilling reading of a Supreme Court transcript. Even so, we were a little surprised to hear an ad the other day for NPR's newest piece of merchandise, the limited-edition Nina Totin' Bag. Yes, it's what you'd think it is: a tote bag with Totenberg's mug on it (in,...

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor aggiechristine.

Good morning, Houston. So, did you hear about the guy who accidentally shot himself during a gun show at the George R. Brown Convention Center? Nope, not a joke: The guy was apparently trying to disassemble his Glock .40-caliber handgun while shopping for a part for the gun when he shot himself Saturday afternoon — but the real kicker is that it looks like he was carrying the gun illegally. "We have signs posted...

Excellent work, gumshoes! Here's your first Top 10 list, made up of your suggestions and our opinions. If you didn't get a chance, be sure to go back and read the various comments made on the first Top 10ist, because there are a few gems. [Next step: contribute to next week's Top 10ist by commenting - below this post - in response to the new prompt, which you will find at the bottom.] Good...

Good morning, Houston. One word for you: Friday. Did you know the day was named for the lovely lady above? She's Frigg, the Norse goddess of beauty, love and fertility. Among Frigg's hobbies: using Orion's Belt to make clouds. Seriously? Lay off a little, Frigg; we need some sun this weekend. >> Fire on the Ship Channel: Thick black smoke rose over the east side shortly after noon yesterday when a tanker truck exploded...

One of the many reasons Houston is a great city is because of the amazing medical community. One aspect of this community is the Air Ambulance service, known as Life Flight. We are sure you have seen these shiny red helicopters flying overhead, but did you know that the Life Flight helicopters average 17 years old? Well the Memorial Hermann Foundation is looking to change that, by raising $40million for six new helicopters (and related...

Good morning, Houston. If you attended mass on Ash Wednesday, we hope it went more smoothly than one at the cathedral in Santa Fe, N.M. During the mass, CD players duct-taped to the undersides of pews began blasting sexually explicit language — as you might expect, it was disruptive. Church staff members took the CD players to the basement, after which a bomb squad arrived and blew two of the three players up. For...

Good morning, Houston. We've heard a lot recently about how Galveston's waterfront is suddenly sprouting high-dollar apartments, condos and hotels — but when will developers begin building high-rises overlooking the lovely Houston Ship Channel? Maybe sooner than you'd think: In Alabama and South Texas, the newest bunch of development is occurring along the Intracoastal Waterway, the 1,300-mile manmade shipping channel few had previously considered pretty. But could the development interfere with shipping, the Intracoastal...

Here's another of those things that'll make us all proud to be Houstonians: According to an environmental research group, three of the five most-polluting U.S. refineries are in the Houston area. We guess our old line to cover for our pollution problem — "That's the smell of money!" — won't quite cut it anymore. According to the Enrivonmental Integrity Project, BP's Texas City refinery, Exxon Mobil's refinery in Baytown and the Lyondell-Citgo plant in Houston...

Good morning, Houston! There's some good news: If you graduated from high school, you're already ahead of a third of Texas students. Of course, that means there's also some bad news — namely, that a third of Texas students don't finish high school. And according to statistics, the situation is even worse in the state's big cities: There, more students drop out than finish high school. Elleen Coppola, a Rice University researcher, said dropouts...

Aaaah, August. Melting concrete. Steaming bayous. It’s hot as Houston. But the days are getting shorter and before you know it, the kiddies will be back in school, we’ll be “falling back” and the nuclear temperatures will turn to chilly. Don’t drag your turtlenecks and overcoats out yet, we still have five weeks 'til Labor Day. To help you make the most of the dwindling days, your friendly Houstonist came up with a short...

It's hard to continue operating a historic ferry. If you don't believe us, just ask Harris County, which found out no one really wants to build new boats for the Lynchburg Ferry route — and when they do, it could cost nearly twice as much as officials expected. The county Commissioners Court agreed two years ago to spend $3 million on new boats for the ferry route, which has been in operation since 1822 (before...

A crew searching near the Ship Channel for a missing 3-year-old toddler came across something unusual Monday: eight plastic bags containing the bodies of dogs. County animal control investigators said they don't know where the dogs came from or who put them on a pile of trash alongside Market Street Road. "Somebody maybe picked them up from a veterinary clinic, and rather than take them to a landfill or somewhere else, they just dumped them...

Last week, Houston landed, yet again, on one of those offbeat national polls. This time, we have the coveted number five spot on the Wild, Weird, and Wacky Street Names Contest, sponsored by Mitsubishi. J.D. Montfort submitted the intersection of Clinton Drive and Fidelity Street, located in east Houston near the Ship Channel, and he’ll receive a life-size replica of those signs for his winning submission. If he’s a Republican, we're sure he’ll proudly...

Houstonist is starting to feel like we live in 19th century London: There's a heavy fog over the city this morning, delaying flights and reducing visibility to an eighth of a mile in some spots. [video from KHOU] Though the fog is starting to dissapate — it reached its peak just before the sun came up at about 6:55 a.m. — it already caused at least two traffic accidents. On the East Loop at Clinton...

Police pulled an unidentified body from the Ship Channel today, not far from where a worker fell off a barge several weeks ago The naked man who beat up a police officer yesterday had been harassing drivers, according to reports Police say a string of home invasions in Fort Bend County, including one in which a woman was robbed while bathing a baby, may be related Greezed Lightnin', one of the AstroWorld roller coasters set...

Next time you wonder why Houston isn't able to reduce its pollution levels, think about the local lawmakers who voted against legislation designed to protect the public from toxic air pollution. Seems 20 of 34 state representatives from the Houston metro area — all Republicans, some representing industrial districts east of Houston — voted to table five measures that would have tightened health screening levels for pollution, set fines for the periodic release of...