Headlines

• Reliant Stadium HD Video Scoreboard Upgrade on Track; Selling Point in Bid for 2017 Super Bowl [Ultimate Texans]
• Houston Home Sales Rise for 22nd Consecutive Month [Prime Property]
• Alley Theatre Planning $73M Renovation, Its First Major Overhaul Since Opening in 1968 [Houston Chronicle]
• Better Homes and Gardens Gary Greene Hires 18 Brokers in Pearland [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Real Estate Magnate Bob Perry is Dead [Houston Chronicle]
• AARP’s Museum District ‘Walkability Audit’ Doesn’t Find Sidewalks Very Walkable [KUHF]
• Following Boston Marathon Bombing, City To Bolster Security at 2 Major Outdoor Events This Weekend [Houston Chronicle]
• Baytown’s Royal Purple Speedway Site of Great Bull Run Event in December [Hair Balls]
• Prestige Builders’ Designer Showcase Property in Tanglewood Open for Tours This Weekend [Culturemap]

Photo of Buffalo Speedway at Willowbend: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• University of Southern California To Announce Idea for the Astrodome [KUHF]
• BP Named in $1B Emissions Lawsuit [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• City May Sue BP To Recover Sales Tax, Hotel Tax Revenues Lost After Oil Spill [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Environmentalists Question Proposal To Remove Benzene, Hydrogen Sulfide from Texas City Air Pollutant Watch List [San Antonio Express-News]
• Second Rabid Bat Found at Friendswood High School within 2 Weeks [abc13]
• Video: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About the George R. Brown Convention Center [Newswatch]

Photo of Reliant Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Astrodome Plan May Be Voted on This Week [Houston Business Journal]
• More than 80 Percent of Homes Sold Last Year Outside of Beltway 8 [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Complete Streets Initiative Aims To Improve Condition, Usability of City’s Streets [KUHF]
• Changes to Chapter 42 Ordinance Could Spur Redevelopment of Blighted Southwest Houston Properties [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Home Prices Expected To Climb at ‘Abnormally High Rate’ [Houston Chronicle]
• Cleanup Begins at Polluted League City Oil Production Site [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Lawsuit Claims $1.5M Woodlands Home Built Atop Active Fault [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Metro’s Rail Line Has One of Lowest Operating Costs in the Country [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Joke on Roots Bistro’s Westheimer Marquee Sparks Outrage [Eating Our Words]
• Houston Top Moving Destination in U.S. 4 Years Running, Finds U-Haul Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Artist Finds Inspiration in Houston’s Power Lines [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Where To See Wildflowers in Houston [KUHF]

Photo of  Greenway Plaza: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Marquette Developers Granted Permit Extensions To Build Highrises, Golf Course in West End [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• ExxonMobil To Sell Virginia Campus, Consolidate Work in The Woodlands [Houston Business Journal]
• 2 Texas Senators File Legislation That Would Allow Customers To Opt Out of Energy Smart Meters [Houston Business Journal]
• Art League Puts Out Call for Scrap Lumber for Patrick Renner’s Montrose Blvd. Funnel Tunnel [Glasstire; previously on Swamplot]
• Today is Bike to Work Day in Houston [abc13]

Photo of US-59 near 610: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Invesco Obtains $185M in Financing for Williams Tower [Prime Property]
• Memorial Hermann To Build $70M Patient Tower in Katy [Houston Business Journal]
• State Threatening Galveston Over Public Housing with Loss of Millions in Federal Disaster Relief Funds [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Construction Booming in Texas, But Many Workers Pay Dearly [NPR]
• Houston’s ‘One Bin for All’ Recycling Plan Could Start in 2 Years [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Homesteaders Hold Old-Fashioned ‘House Raising’ in East End Historic District [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Investcorp Adds To Houston Real Estate Portfolio with Purchase of One Westchase Center [Houston Business Journal]
• City Proposes Safe-Passing Law Requiring Motorists To Share Road with Cyclists [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Why We Should Prepare For An Unusually Busy Hurricane Season [KUHF]

Photo of Rockefeller Hall at Washington Ave. and Heights Blvd.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Up to $16M Unaccounted For from Construction of 2 Montgomery County Buildings [Courier of Montgomery County]
• City Council To Discuss Changes to Chapter 42 Development Ordinance Today [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Metro Rolls Out New Train Cars With Bigger Capacity, Dedicated Bike Racks [Culturemap]
• Galveston Park Board Approves Plan To Use Funds Meant for West End Beaches on $15M Seawall Sand Project [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Galveston Conventions Lure 5,000 Visitors To Island This Week [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• City Council To Consider Building Concession Area at Houston Permitting Center [Houston Politics]

Photo of Texas Medical Center: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Why the Next Great American Cities Are Spread-Out Urban Newbies Like Houston [The Daily Beast]
• Slideshow: A Sneak Peek Inside the Lancaster Hotel Renovation [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Closed Since February for Renovations, Westheimer’s Palm Houston Steakhouse To Reopen This Summer [Houston Chronicle]
• Walkscore.com Names Houston Most Walkable Large City in Texas [Houston Chronicle]
• Prairie View’s 3 Zip Codes Cause Mail Delivery Woes for City, Residents [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Vargo’s Peacocks Still Roaming Closed Restaurant’s Piney Point Village Grounds [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Washington Ave. Could Use More Public Art [Art Attack]

Photo of the former Great Indoors on I-10 near Beltway 8: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• The Hidden Original Design Elements Houston Restaurateurs Found While Repurposing Old Buildings [Houston Chronicle]
• Aldi To Open First 9 Houston Stores This Thursday [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• ‘Decaying Surfaces’ Along Westheimer, West Alabama Not on City’s Priority List [Culturemap]
• La Madeleine Plans To Add 8 to 10 More Restaurants in Houston in Next 5 Years [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• $30M Fifth Ward Renaissance Project Aims To Attract Businesses, Homeowners [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• MetroRail Celebrates 100M Boardings with Free Rides Tomorrow [HAIF]

Photo of I-10 near Downtown East at Gessner: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Former Renaissance, Now DoubleTree in Greenway Plaza Getting $15M Renovation [Houston Business Journal]
• Commuter Biking Options in Houston Will Soon Reach Critical Mass [The Highwayman]
• New Pedestrian Bridge at Bringhurst in Fifth Ward Will Help Schoolkids Get to the Other Side of the Tracks [Houston Chronicle]
• Low-Slung Car Shop Next to Hubcap Grill Envisioned as Home to CK Steakhouse Already Demolished [Eater Houston]
• The Story Behind That House on Kirby Near Rice Village with the Second-Floor Garage Doors [CultureMap]
• Annual RDA Home Tour This Weekend Features Homes Designed by Rice University Faculty [RDA]

Photo of District at Washington apartments under construction at T.C. Jester and Schuler: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Light Rail Expansion, 1,000-Room Marriott Marquis, Discovery Green Vital Part of Houston’s 2017 Super Bowl Bid [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Developers Will Now Join Property Owners in Paying Drainage Fees [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Planning Official Answers Questions About Impending Changes to Chapter 42 Development Ordinance [Texas Leftist; previously on Swamplot]
• Sneak Peek Inside Revamped Heights Icehouse D&T Drive Inn [Eater Houston]
• Hitchcock Residents Recovering from Tuesday Night’s Damaging Hailstorm [MyFoxHouston]
• City Council Considering Creation of Appeals Board To Hear Water Bill Complaints [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Reality TV Star’s Midtown Patio Bar Dogwood Now Open [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston-Area Home Prices Could Grow By 4.4 Percent Over Next 9 Months [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Driving Becoming a Pay-to-Play Proposition [The Highwayman]
• Dallas-Based Silverleaf Resorts Discussing Beachfront Condo Development [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• ‘Haunting’ Photos of an Emptied Out, Shuttered Marfreless [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Bacteria Advisory Issued for Stretch of South Sea Isle Beach in Galveston [Houston Chronicle]
• Rabid Bat Found Near Friendswood High School [Click2Houston]
• Bellaire Considering New Monument Signs To Help Sharpen Identity [Houston Chronicle]
• Fort Bend County Nation’s Most Ethnically Diverse County, Finds Rice University Study [Houston Chronicle]
• Slideshow: Heights Home and Garden Tour This Weekend [Houston Business Journal]

Photo near Westpark Tollway and FM 723 Rd.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Memorial Hermann To Build 40-Acre Medical Campus in Pearland [Prime Property]
• United’s New $152M IAH Terminal Opening Later This Month To Feature High-Profile Chefs’ Restaurants [Houston Chronicle]
• Dallas-Based Texas de Brazil Steakhouse Opening First Houston Location Next Week at CityCentre [Houston Business Journal]
• North Forest ISD Annexation into HISD Moving Forward, Effective July 1 [Houston Business Journal]
• Fewer People Want To Drive 85 MPH Than We Thought: Texas 130 Tollway Attracts Half the Predicted Traffic [Off the Kuff]
• Rice Design Alliance Home Tours Showcasing 10 Rice University Architects [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of US-59 at I-10: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Boy Scouts To Purchase 1,442 Acres in San Jacinto County for New Camp Strake [Cleveland Advocate]
• Construction Underway for New Nordstrom at The Woodlands Mall Sears Site [The Isiah Factor]
• Marfreless Serves Last Beer in River Oaks [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• TxDOT To Fund Control Towers Slated for Closure at 13 Airports [Houston Chronicle]
• Downtown Tunnel-Born Salata Salad Chain Planning National Empire [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Galveston Undergoing Restoration [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Residents Near University of Texas Medical Branch Continue Parking Battle [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Residents Question Homeowner Who Trimmed Branches of Tree Where Herons Nest [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Gulf Coast Businesses Brace for Severe Hurricane Season [KUHF]
• Body Found Floating in Discovery Green Pond [KHOU]

Photo of Minute Maid Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Day Pass Returning for Metro Bus Riders Later This Year [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston’s First Sprouts Now Open in Katy; Spring Cypress Location Coming April 17 [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Galleria Plaza Office, Retail Complex Bought By Developer, Could Expand [Prime Property]
• Klineberg: Increasing Quality of Life the Engine for Houston’s Economic Development [KUHF]
• Houston Mortgages Creating Competitive Banking Market [Houston Business Journal ($)]
• City Plans on Raising Appraisals More Than 50 Percent on Nearly 350 Office Properties [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston Now Back in ‘Severe’ Drought [SciGuy]
• Galveston Spends $20K To Use Glen Campbell’s 1969 Hit To Promote Tourism [KUHF]

Photo of Williams Tower: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Pico’s Mex-Mex Opening in Former Ninfa’s/Maggie Rita’s Space at Kirby and Richmond [29-95.com]
• Before and After: Downtown Ramen Shop Goro & Gun [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Texas House Votes in Favor of Program To Help Finance Reservoirs, Pipelines, Other Water-Supply Projects [Houston Chronicle]
• Federal Flood Insurance Premiums Going Up for Some Houston-Area Residents [abc13]
• Controversial Art Guys Tree Officially Removed from Menil’s Permanent Collection [Glasstire; previously on Swamplot]
• The Woodlands: A 40-Year, Overnight Success Story [GlobeSt.com]

Photo of Alva Graphics at Shepherd and Center: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool