Good morning, Houston. If you've ever thought that Halloween needed a little more, uh, spice, you might want to check out HauntXXX, "Houston's most titillating haunted house." The titillating part apparently has to do with nearly naked women wearing neon body paint — and as for the haunted part, well, we're not so sure (maybe these are some super-scary sexpots we're talking about). The haunted house isn't sitting well with some of its neighbors,......

Good morning, Houston. Today's the last day of August, and you know what that means: Yes! Tomorrow, it'll be September! And why is that exciting, you ask? Well, as it happens, there are a few (relatively) interesting thing about the ninth month: For example, when the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, Sept. 2 was immediately followed by Sept. 14 — which, legend has it, led to riots by people who thought......

Looks like Priscilla Slade's trial may be held in Houston after all: On Monday, state District Judge Brock Thomas denied her lawyers' request for a change of venue, though he could still change his mind after screening the jury pool. Slade's attorneys asked Thomas to move the trial to Travis County last month, claiming that heavy media coverage of the former Texas Southern University president's alleged spending spree with $2 million in public funds meant......

Good morning, Houston. Are you feeling particularly crunk today? Maybe you should be: Crunk is among the words added to Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary this year. Also among the 100 new words are DVR, IED, gray literature and smackdown. But we think we'll get the most use out of crunk, which M-W defines as a style of Southern rap music but which has a variety of definitions in the Urban Dictionary. Which brings us to......

Former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade is set to stand trial Aug. 10 on charges of misspending millions of dollars in public funds — but the trial's location could be up in the air. According to the AP, Slazde'a attorneys are asking for her trial to be moved to Travis County, saying heavy media coverage in Houston has "created a climate within this community where (Slade) can no longer obtain an unbiased jury of......

Juneteenth Celebration at Miller Outdoor Theater Happy Juneteenth! Join the city in celebrating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation when slavery in Texas offically became a thing of the past. Tonight, Miller Outdoor Theater presents “Sarah and Joshua – a Juneteenth Musical” – the premiere of a new musical drama by Texas Southern University playwright Thomas Meloncon in commemoration of Juneteenth. The play tells the story of two slaves in love and the events leading......

So Gov. Rick Perry has appointed five regents to the Texas Southern University board. That leaves four seats open, and though there has been a surge in the number of applicants in the last year, finding people to fill those empty spots won't be easy, as the Chronicle notes today. State records show that fewer than 50 people applied for spots on the TSU board over the past six years, while twice as many applied......

Good morning, Houston. If you're like Houstonist, you've watched those TV specials about the University of Tennessee's body farm with morbid interest — and you were morbidly interested when you heard that a similar facility was being planned for Texas State in San Marcos. But the plan keeps running into roadblocks, the latest of which is a concern that the buzzards the body farm would attract could affect airplanes on their way to the......

After four hours of deliberation, a jury yesterday sentenced former Texas Southern financial chief Quintin Wiggins to 10 years in prison for misspending nearly $300,000 in university funds on personal expenses for former TSU President Priscilla Slade. That doesn't mean the Wiggins story is over — his lawyer said he plans to appeal — but for now, we can't help but wonder how Wiggins' sentence will affect the outcome of Slade's trial this summer. Slade,......

Jurors on Thursday found former Texas Southern University CFO Quintin Wiggins guilty of misspending nearly $300,000 in public funds on furniture, landscaping and a security system for the private home of former university President Priscilla Slade. The conviction means Wiggins could face life in prison — and it's probably not too good for Slade, who is scheduled to go on trial in August, either. During Wiggins' trial, prosecutors said he diverted $286,000 in TSU money......

Good morning, Houston. Are we the only ones who've had a really long week? Even though Thursday just reminds us that it's not yet Friday, we can still find some Thursday goodness. For example, did you know Thursday is named for Thor, the god of thunder? OK, then, how about what it meant if you wore green to high school on Thursday in the '60s? And did you know the universe was actually created......

Today's news in the story of TSU Board of Regents Chairwoman Belinda Griffin vs. Gov. Rick Perry can be summed up in five words: former Chairwoman Belinda Griffin. No, really. Griffin, who turned in her resignation on Friday — but not really — actually resigned once and for all yesterday, paving the way for Perry to appoint five new regents to lead the school, with a fast track to legislative confirmation. The plan to appoint......

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......

It's been a busy weekend for Texas Southern University, where the regents are reportedly meeting this morning to fire interim President James Timothy Boddie, whom they had picked to lead the troubled school last fall. According to KTRK, the new president will be Morris Overstreet, a law professor who earned his law degree from TSU in 1975 and was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1990. There aren't any more details on......

Good morning, Houston. We forgot to mention a bit of news last week: According to ForbesTraveler.com, Houston is the sixth-best restaurant city in the country. "San Antonio may have a far more manifest Mexican food culture, but Houston, which spirals forever outward, has far more breadth and depth," the site said; it specifically cited upper-end Tony's, Café Annie and Américas, but also mentioned the Breakfast Klub, with its "irresistible" chicken and waffles. Mmm. >>......

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......

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......

Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of Quintin Wiggins, the former Texas Southern University CFO who is among those indicted on charges of misspending state money at the university — and, not surprisingly, Wiggins' attorney claims that what appeared to be the mishandling of funds was really just Wiggins carrying out orders from his bosses. Wiggins is accused of misdirecting more than $200,000 in public funds toward furniture, landscaping and a home security system......

Good morning, Houston. The good thing about having a lovers' spat is that there's almost always someone else out there having one that's far worse — take, for example, the story of a Conroe quarrel that led to a woman ramming her ex-boyfriend's car. Thomas Young-Davis told police that his ex got upset that he had a new girlfriend, so she followed him to a gas station yesterday afternoon, backed into his car twice......

And you thought all that Texas A&M students had to do was put up with the inevitable Aggie jokes. Turns out being an Ag is getting more expensive: a proposal for a 13% increase in tuition and fees is coming up before the school's Board of Regents today, and is expected to pass, writes the Chronicle. This plan is only the latest in a series of several tuition increases at public universities, which began in......

Two things seem clear from last night's town hall meeting on problems at Texas Southern University: one, that TSU has problems that need fixing, and two, that supporters feel putting the school under a state university system would be a big mistake. Hundreds of people attended the meeting held by the Texas Southern University Advisory Committee, the group Gov. Rick Perry appointed to find a way to clean up far-reaching financial problems at the historically......

That's right -- not one, but two town hall meetings this evening, folks. TSU or John Culberson. Pick your poison: Texas Southern University Advisory Committee Governor Perry created this special committee by executive order (and we all know how that goes) in January. The committee is required to come up with a fiscal and strategic plan by March 15 for the university, which is in a precarious position right now. Concerned members of the community......

Good morning, Houston. Has it been a crazy week for you? It kind of has for us — but really, we got nothing compared with what happened in the custody hearing for Anna Nicole Smith's body and daughter in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., yesterday. By all accounts, it was a circus (what else would you expect?), and Judge Larry Seidlin did his best to keep it all under control. Seidlin said Smith's body will remain......

Gov. Rick Perry took another step Tuesday in his effort to get Texas Southern University's finances back on track: There's now an 11-member advisory panel in place, and it has been charged with finding a plan by mid-March to get TSU out of debt. We talked last week about the school's financial troubles, which include millions of dollars in debt for capital improvements, building repairs, purchase orders and athletic program; without emergency funding, university officials......

Interim Texas Southern University president J. Timothy Boddie Jr. was in Austin yesterday asking lawmakers for emergency support to keep the university running — and it looks like that could take quite a bit of money, according to KTRK. "We've got some serious challenges at TSU," said [State Rep. Borris] Miles. "They're facing an immediate need of 26, 27 million dollars. They're coming up to address those issues with legislators who know the governor and......

Well, it looks like we still have a few months before we get to hear why spending millions of dollars in public funds on personal expenses was OK: The trial of ex-Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade, who seems like she'll prove herself the queen of justifying outrageous actions, has been set for Aug. 10. Slade, remember, got in trouble back in February after she blabbed to one of the school's regents that she spent......

Metro President and CEO Frank Wilson delivered his state of Metro address at the Hilton Americas yesterday afternoon. Wilson touched on several projects that loom in Metro's future, including the controversial $1 billion+ light rail expansion. It looks like Mr. Wilson isn't tipping his pitches concerning the University line debate (which is all we were really listening for anyways). In fact, eager rail enthusiasts and detractors received no new information. All Wilson had to say......

As the debate continues over the alignment of Metro's proposed University light rail line, a calmer discussion is going on in the Third Ward, where the eastern end of the University Line would run. At issue is how the line would get from the University of Houston to Main Street — Third Ward residents want to make sure the line will help the neighborhood, not drive it out of existence. Planners are looking at......

In case you missed it between the terror alert and the recovering penguins: Former TSU Priscilla Slade made her first court appearance yesterday morning since being indicted on felony charges of misusing funds, and not much happened. Her hearing was reset for Sept. 14, and that was that. Except, of course, that really wasn't that. Slade's attorney, Mike DeGuerin, fired a few parting shots at Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal, saying Rosenthal might have tainted......

Transplanted Houstonian Stephanie reads Phillyist all the time and thought coming home for the summer would be a ton more fun if we started our version of one of their features: a list of things to do each week on the cheap. Everything on this list'll be $10 or less, so we're calling it "Fun for a Hamilton". Thanks for the idea, Stephanie ... enjoy! Friday, June 9th Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries,......