West Texas, specifically Marfa, may be No Country for Old Men, but it certainly seems to be the place for making Academy Award winning films. Speaking of winning, one lucky Houston Fiesta shopper hit it big in the Texas Lotto. >> TSU's president calls for entrance standard: The Chronicle reports that new TSU president John Rudley is moving toward more stringent admissions standards for the embattled university. President Rudley is taking over the helm......

Houstonist is heading to Big Bend National Park this weekend to participate in our annual camping extravaganza called HookerFest (not those kinda hookers) by the participants and "the annual freeze your ass off trip" by non-believers. Never one to show up to a party without a contribution, we have been putting on our creativity caps for new and exciting libations each year. This year, we decided that it was time to "live off of the......

Native Houstonian Sam Jones IV may not have a traditional route as to how he got his start in art, but it's definitely a unique story. The mixed media artist sat down and talked with us about his experiences growing up in Houston, and how living in the South has impacted his artistic career. You have a pretty "uniquely-Houston" story as to how you got your start in your art education. Most people don't......

When Houstonist was a rookie Texan, we once debated a colleague about films that were "quintessentially Texas." Any film set in Texas, filmed in Texas, starring Texans, etc. was eligible. The point was to build a list of movies to watch so that we could figure out the reason for the nauseating levels of Texanism and the fascination of the outside world with the state of Texas. Surely armadillos, oil rigs and interstate were......

Looks like we won't be able to catch a rocket ship to outer space in Houston's back yard anytime soon: Earlier this week, the Brazoria County Commissioners Court voted to dissolve a nonprofit corporation that was formed to build a commercial spaceport. The group, called the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport Development Corp., was formed in 2000 to build a port for spacecraft to deliver commercial satellite into orbit; an initial proposal was to develop the......

Good morning, Houston! If you leave the house this morning, expect wrecks everywhere — the freezing rain and freezing bridges everyone's been talking about finally hit last night. If we were TV news, we'd have one of those flashy "Winter Storm" graphics and some super-serious music — but we're not, so: >> The ice cometh, man: Basically, here's the situation: It's cold and people are crashing into each other all over the city. Road......

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......

If you're headed out to West Texas soon, you might want to pack your helmets and racing gloves: Tomorrow, the speed limit on two stretches of interstate will increase to 80 mph, the fastest posted speed in the U.S. The higher speeds will affect 521 miles of Interstates 10 and 20, from Kerrville to just east of El Paso on I-10 and from Monahans to the I-10 interchange on I-20. As Houstonist noted earlier, the......

So this moring, we have insight into the complicated philosophy by which TxDOT makes decisions about changing the speed limit on Texas highways: If everyone's already going 80, we might as well make the speed limit 80. That's what the state is proposing for sections of Interstates 10 and 20 between Kerr and El Paso counties in West Texas. Carlos Lopez, director of traffic operations for the department, said a survey of both interstates found......

After a spring-like winter, Houstonist was looking forward to a couple more months of sun and mild temperatures when spring officially hit Monday. And then, bam — it got freakin' cold. Yesterday's low was 44, a full 10 degrees above the record low of 34, set in 1968. But the high yesterday, 54, was 21 degrees below the average high for March 23. And that brisk north wind didn't really help things, either. Things will......

Montgomery County officials have extended the county's burn ban for 90 days in the face of continued dry conditions. MoCo firefighters dealt with more than 130 reports of outdoor burning, 60 wildfires and 11 structure fired between Thursday and Sunday alone, which prompted the burn ban extension Monday. Though the Houston area is still dry (the sprinkles we had last night weren't enough to help, and it looks like there's no appreciable rain coming in......

Wildfires in North and West Texas are blamed for four deaths; in Cross Plains, about 50 homes and a church were destroyed FEMA will think about Houston's request for the federal agency to help pay overtime for HPD officers overworked by the flood of hurricans evacuees The state Court of Criminal Appeals will hear Tom DeLay's request for a speedy trial A WWII-era German railcar that may or may not have been used to transport......