Good morning, Houston. Sure, the national economy may be going to hell in a handbasket, but look on the bright side: Houston's housing market is remaining pretty strong, so at least you homeowners have something of value! According to a new report, the median home value in Houston fell just $500 between the end of the third quarter 2007 and the end of the year, to $119,300 from $119,800 — still a gain of more than $4,000 over the 2006 year-end average of $115,700. Oh, one other thing: People from more expensive markets are apparently discovering that things are cheaper here. "Areas in Texas, which we have long characterized as undervalued, are now attracting significant migration at the expense of much higher-cost metros of California or Florida," the report said. Oh, .
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Good morning, Houston. Who said Barbie never did anything for anybody? She's helped make 4-year-old Phoebe Swann famous, at least for a little while: Swann recently caught a 50-pound Black Drum with a Barbie fishing rod. It happened during a family trip to Rockport; Swann was using the Barbie rod with a red plastic worm as bait when she reeled in the big fish. In case you're wondering, Swann and her dad threw the fish back — and there's no word on whether she's willing to sell the lucky pole.
Good morning, Houston. Remember Radar, the adorable Channel 2 weather dog? If you're a Ken Hoffman reader, we can't imagine how you'd forget. It turns out someone in Tyler was a big fan of the idea: a TV station there has their own weather dog, Stormy. Stormy serves a function similar to Radar's and also wears an American flag bandana and takes ridiculous pictures. Just another reason to be glad you don't live in...
Good morning, Houston. It's Thursday — the last day of May — which means there's just a few more hours to enter the Houstonist photo exhibition. We're accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, so be sure to send your photos before then. As always, the details and entry form are at 600sqmi.com. Good luck! >> Aw, hail: We knew there was a chance of rain yesterday, but we didn't expect a long bout of...
The emergency meeting of the remaining Texas Southern University regents Monday morning ended up not panning out after all when only three of nine voting regents attended, meaning the group didn't make quorum — perhaps because Board of Regents Chairwoman Belinda Griffin had submitted the regents' resignations to Gov. Rick Perry on Friday. But if the regents have already resigned, why were they planning to meet yesterday? Add that to the ever-growing list of questions...
More on Gov. Rick Perry's proposal to oust the Texas Southern University regents and appoint a state conservator to run the troubled university: Perry has agreed to consider an alternate proposal from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus if the group can come up with a plan that would get the school back on track as quickly as conservatorship. "If members of the black caucus can bring us a tool ... that gets us there, that they can get passed in the Legislature, then we're willing to consider that," Perry spokesman Robert Black said. "If not, then the governor is committed to turning this around and the only tool left is conservatorship."
Another development in the story of Texas Southern University's ongoing problems: On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry asked all the university's regents to resign and called for the appointment of a state-appointed conservator who would have the sole power to run the school. It's a drastic step — especially in light of the fact that a commission Perry appointed to find a way for TSU to get back on its feet decided a conservator wasn't necessary...
Residents of Garden City, a neighborhood in northwest Houston, were surprised to learn that many of the fixtures that they always believed to be fire hydrants, are in fact only flush valves. They're useful for clearing the water lines in the area, but are ineffective for fighting fires. Furthermore, the private company that provides water to the homes is not required to provide water to fire hydrants as well, but residents had no idea until Wayne Dolcefino brought the news to the people. Several homes in the neighborhood have caught fire and burned to the ground because firefighters can't find a nearby water source, according to residents:
The Texas Southern University regents will hold an emergency meeting this afternoon to decide the fate of TSU President Priscilla Slade, who's under fire for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized expenditures she made while in office. The meeting was originally set for May 5, but regents decided to move it up — perhaps as a reaction to the bizarre, carefully orchestrated "media campaign" Slade began last week. It's been interesting — not unexpected,...
So TSU's embattled president Priscilla Slade has decided to defy the university's board of regents by talking about her questionable spending — we could say Slade went public, but in reality, it's anything but public. Slade, remember, is accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of university money on personal expenses not allowed under her contract. Last week came news that she spent nearly twice her personal allotment in 2005 and nearly $650,000 in...