“The ten houses in Idylwood, 6 along N. Macgregor, 2 on Wildwood and 2 on Park Ln were all heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Most all those houses have been hit numerous times, not the least of which was Allison. Those homes were right on Brays Bayou. Come on folks, some of the homeowners hated to sell to FEMA but it was either that or jump through impossible hoops to raise the homes’ foundations.
True, there’s been a lot of improvement to the bayou but who knows if those improvements will be effective when the next flood hits?
Not everyone chose to take the buyout.” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Idylwood Hat Trick]
Read more about: 77023, Brays-Bayou, Comments, Demolitions, FEMA, Flooding, Hurricane Ike, Idylwood
Eight years into it, Leon Hale still isn’t entirely accustomed to his fancy just-inside-the-West Loop highrise apartment: “I mean in all the other places I’ve lived I washed the windows myself, if they ever got washed. And I admit I’ve never gotten used to having doors opened for me. I’ve always been pretty well able to open doors for myself. But door-opening is the custom here, and who knows? Someday I might get so feeble I’ll need such help. That’s not one of my goals, though.
In other ways life here is a lot the same as in several apartments I’ve lived in. Little things happen that usually don’t happen in free-standing homes.
For instance, the apartment just below us is being renovated, and the other day somebody was drilling a hole in the ceiling down there. He drilled too far and punched a hole in our kitchen floor, right up through the tile, in front of the dishwasher.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Apartments, Hazards, Luxury Highrises
Covington Builders will get to keep its license to build in West University after all. Ten homes the homebuilder had constructed since 2000 had never received occupancy permits from the city, but they’ve got ’em now. At issue on 7 of those homes: tree inspections. “‘They went to them and were able to determine what trees were there, measured the inches. I gave him some credit for some of the growth inches that were there, over time,’ [Chief Building Official John] Brown said. ‘He paid the tree trust the balance of money that was owed, which closed out his cases.’ Covington paid about $8,250 to the tree fund for the 82.5 tree inches that were missing on the seven outstanding properties. Before completing all the inspections, the city had estimated that Covington owed $10,300 to the tree fund.” [Instant News West U; previously on Swamplot]
Read more about: 77005, Building Inspections, Development Regulations, Homebuilders, Trees, West University
The most recent smell, of rotten eggs, has been claimed by the folks at ExxonMobil’s Baytown Refinery. Fortunately, local news outlet Reuters UK is on the story, filing one of the few reports on the incident, which we quote here in full: “Exxon Mobil said Wednesday there was an operational issue at its 562,500 barrel-per-day refinery in Baytown, Texas but gave no details as to the scope and units involved. ‘I can tell you there was no impact to production,’ said Kevin Allexon, a spokesman for the company.” [Reuters UK]
Read more about: 77520, Air Quality, Baytown, Hazards, Odors, Refineries
Hey, who turned out all the street lights along I-10 between the East Loop and Uvalde? Copper thieves! “[Public Works spokesperson Alvin] Wright said a similar theft took place inside the loop, but this was the first time it had happened on such a large scale further east.
In response, public works is considering replacing the copper wires with aluminum, and installing lock boxes to keep the copper conductors safe. Officials said they don’t know how long it will take to complete the repairs, which could eventually cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.” [KHOU.com]
Read more about: 77013, 77015, 77029, Crime, Freeways, Jacinto City, Outdoor Lighting, Streetscapes
Jay Lee shoots game in Houston’s wild west: “Off Memorial Drive between Kirkwood and Dairy Ashford reside the wild peafowl of West Houston. Peacocks and Peahens roam the yards and streets, putting on a show and making a racket. Their call sounds like a baby crying out or a cat in severe pain. Some residents describe their call as “sounds like somebody being murdered.”
Overall they seem oblivious to the human residents and the occasional gawkers like myself who drive down to see them.
Apparently the population of about 50 birds are offspring from a pair that a landowner gave his wife more than 30 years ago.” [Bald Heretic]
Read more about: 77079, Critters, Memorial, Nottingham Forest
February 26, 2010 – 10:35 am
If our kids don’t see the spikes, how will they get the message that we want them to stay in school? “On Thursday, fencing contractors clipped the last strand of barbed wire at Scott Elementary School, wrapping up a three-month project to rid 68 schools of nearly 100,000 feet of the sharp stuff.
Some parents praised the move to give campuses more curb appeal, while others said they feared criminals would be more tempted to break in without the barbed wire. . . . The speedy removal of the barbed wire across HISD cost nearly $147,000. Many of the campuses will get entirely new fencing in the next 18 months thanks to the 2007 voter-approved bond, said Dick Lindsay, the district’s chief business officer. Black vinyl fencing will replace the old, rusted chain-link around the campuses, while more expensive wrought-iron — traditionally found at schools in wealthier neighborhoods — will grace the front of the buildings.” [Houston Chronicle]
Read more about: Fences, Public Buildings, Schools, Security
February 24, 2010 – 2:23 pm
Clearwire is set to launch its Clear 4G wireless broadband service in Houston “within several weeks.” That’ll put this city just slightly ahead of New York, San Francisco, and Boston on the company’s schedule — but behind Amarillo, Abilene, and Austin, where the service became available last year. The home version of the service is priced comparably to DSL and cable — but uh, doesn’t require any wiring. Its high-speed mobile version costs $45 a month for unlimited data. Comcast and Sprint will likely offer rebranded versions of the same service — as they have in other cities. [DSLreports, via LeasingHouston]
Read more about: Internet Access, Technology
Comment of the Day: The Great Idylwood Shoreline FEMA Buyout
“The ten houses in Idylwood, 6 along N. Macgregor, 2 on Wildwood and 2 on Park Ln were all heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Most all those houses have been hit numerous times, not the least of which was Allison. Those homes were right on Brays Bayou. Come on folks, some of the homeowners hated to sell to FEMA but it was either that or jump through impossible hoops to raise the homes’ foundations.
True, there’s been a lot of improvement to the bayou but who knows if those improvements will be effective when the next flood hits?
Not everyone chose to take the buyout.” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Idylwood Hat Trick]