Headlines

• Homeowners Seeking Rural Way of Life, Low Interest Rates Fueling Santa Fe Housing Demand [Galveston County Daily News]
• Video: Inside DiverseWorks’ New Midtown Home [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Brio Tuscan Grille Opening Today in Old Pesce Spot at West Alabama and Kirby [29-95; previously on Swamplot]
• Port Commissioners Approve Bayport Ship Channel Expansion After Cutting Plans To Build 475-Acre Island in Galveston Bay out of Dredge Material [abc13]
• Proposed Bullet Train Would Get You From Houston to Dallas in 90 Minutes [Texas Tribune]
• Sugar Land Traffic Lights Now Respond to Real-Time Conditions [abc13]
• Council OKs Placing $410M in Bond Measures on November Ballot [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• 75% of Texas Still in Some State of Drought [Click2Houston]

Photo of installation on Dart St. at Beachton, First Ward: Swamplot inbox

• David Weekley Homes Developing Its Fifth Bank of Heights Townhomes, This Time on Yale [Houston Business Journal]
• Studio Movie Grill Planning $9M Freewayside Theater at I-45 and Victory Lakes Dr. in League City [Galveston County Daily News]
• Monica Pope’s Sparrow Bar & Cookshop Replaces t’afia on Travis St. [29-95.com]
• Wicked Whisk Food Truck Taking Over Downtown Cafe Luz Space Just For August [Culturemap]
• Slideshow: Redesigned H-E-B Opens on Fairmont Pkwy. [Pasadena Citizen]
• League City Plans To Use $3M Surplus To Refinance Bond, Not Give Residents Property Tax Rebate [Galveston County Daily News]
• Texas Ranks in Top 10 of States with High Obesity Rates, Finds Government Survey [CBS Houston]
• Toilet Fair Outside Gates Foundation in Seattle Highlights Grant-Winning Potty Designs [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of West Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Mac Haik Breaking Ground Next Week on 17-Story Office Building at I-10 and Kirkwood [Prime Property]
• Texas City Tanger Outlets Opening Oct. 19 Near I-45 and Holland Rd.; 48 Stores Listed So Far [Galveston County Daily News; previously on Swamplot]
• Weekend’s Fish Kill Along Galveston Beaches Now Linked to Red Tide [Galveston County Daily News]
• Slideshow of Art Square Studios in Midtown, Cleburne Cafeteria Redo That Includes the New Home of DiverseWorks [Culturemap]
• Video Tour of Michael Kors’ Third Houston Store at Memorial City Mall [Culturemap]
• Houston Housing Authority Opening Up Section 8 Waiting List for First Time in 6 Years [KUHF]
• League City Considering Deal To Buy a Million Gallons of Water a Day from the Gulf Coast Water Authority for Emergencies [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston, Harris County Strike Deal on Metro Road Funds [Houston Chronicle]
• Plans Under Way To Use Forbes’ ‘Coolest City’ Designation To Promote Houston in Ad Campaigns [Houston Chronicle]
• On the Trail of Beyoncé in Marfa [The Great God Pan Is Dead]

Photo of Art Square Studios: Candace Garcia

• The Woodlands Likely Not To Become Its Own City Anytime Soon, Because It’d Be Expensive [Houston Chronicle]
• Appraisal Values for Single-Family Homes in League City Up 24 Percent Over Past 10 Years [Galveston County Daily News]
• Water Costs To Rise 50 Cents per 1,000 Gallons Next Month in The Woodlands, Conroe [abc13]
• Texas City Rebuilding First Lady Pavilion at Its Dike, Making Other Enhancements [Galveston County Daily News]
• Bennigan’s, Del Taco, Shoney’s On the Go, Gulf Oil Staging Houston Comebacks [Houston Chronicle]
• Pearland Steak ‘n Shake First of 8 to 10 New Locations for Second Houston Franchisee [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Fire Museum Raising Funds for New, Bigger Facility [abc13]
• Kemah Boardwalk Ride Malfunctions, Sending Light Debris Falling [KHOU]
• Bus Service That Connects Pasadena with La Porte Might End Aug. 31 [Houston Chronicle]
• NRDC Report Ranks Texas’s Industrial Pollution 10th Worst in the Country [Fuel Fix]
• Smelly Fish Kill Along Galveston Beaches a Result of Low Oxygen Levels [Galveston County Daily News]
• West Nile Threat Likely To Rise in Houston in Coming Weeks [Houston Chronicle]
• Backyard Pool in Walden on Lake Houston Mosquito Breeding Ground [Click2Houston]
• Houston Needs a New Brand; How About ‘Houspitality Spirit’? [Houston Strategies]

Photo of dead shad on Galveston beach: drealjjones

• Finger Furniture Closing Giant ‘Outdated’ Store at Gulf Fwy. and Cullen Again [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Burger Guys Taking Over Former Korma Sutra Spot on Main Street Downtown [Eater Houston]
• Federal Grant for $188M Coming to Metro for North and Southeast Rail Line Construction [KUHF]
• Preliminary Study Approved for Channel Improvements to Briar Branch Creek [Memorial Examiner]
• Wreckers Right on Time To Haul Away Cars When Porretto Beach Closes, Visitors Complain [Galveston County Daily News]
• Braeswood Place Coyotes Preying on Residents’ Pets [abc13]
• Rare Alligator Sighting in Galveston Bay Near Pelican Bay Pier [abc13]
• Porch Planter Thefts Roil Sunset Heights [The Leader]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sugar Land Approves New 6,500-Seat Concert Venue Near US-59 and University Boulevard [Houston Business Journal]
• Edwards’ New 14-Screen Complex at West Oaks Mall Begins Previews Aug. 20 [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• After Noise Disputes, League City Sports Bar Moving to Webster [Galveston County Daily News]
• Williams Tower Sale Could Draw Lots of Offers [Houston Chronicle]
• No Public Vote on Astrodome’s Future Until 2013 [KHOU]
• West U To Issue $75 Fines for On-Street Parking Violations Starting in October [Houston Chronicle]
• Woodlands Waterway Cruisers’ Ridership on Upward Trend for First Time in 4 Years [Woodlands Villager]
• Just How Safe is MegaBus, Houston’s New, Plush Long-Distance Travel Option? [Hairballs]
• Residents Complain About Galveston Park Board’s 6-Ft.-Tall Pile of Smelly Beach Refuse on 29th St. [Galveston County Daily News]
• Downtown’s Quebedeaux Park Overrun with Rats [abc13]
• The Drama Behind the Heights’ Strife-Torn, Wildly Popular White Linen Night [Houston Press]

Photo: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Iconic Williams Tower on the Market, Could Fetch $475M [Prime Property]
• Turning Astrodome into an Olympic Training Facility Suggested at Commissioner’s Court Meeting [Click2Houston]
• Are Plans for a Killen’s Steakhouse in the Heights Already Dead? [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Leads Southern Cities in Population Growth, Followed by San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Finds Biz Journals Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Striking Houston Janitors Meeting with Building Owners Today To Work Out Labor Contract [KUHF]
• Where’s Your iPhone Getting Current Houston Weather Conditions From Now? [SciGuy]
• Nasty Sewer Stench Causes Evacuation of HCAD Building [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of new roof turbine on Permitting Center: Green Building Resource Center

• Niagara Water Maker Will Build Manufacturing, Distribution Center in Missouri City’s Lakeview Business Park, Get Tax Breaks [Prime Property]
• Developers Reviving Will Perry’s Stalled Hidden Lakes Community South of Hwy. 96 near Clear Lake [Galveston County Daily News]
• Rising Gulf, Coastal Erosion Complicate Development Planning in Galveston [Texas Climate News]
• Texas Has Second-Highest Mortgage Closing Costs in Country, Finds Bankrate Study [KUHF]
• Single-Family Home Sales in Texas Increase 13%, Says Realtor Association [Pearland Journal]
• Anvil-Backed Bar Julep Coming to Old Corkscrew Space On Washington Ave. [29-95; previously on Swamplot]
• Proposed Telehealth Research Institute Could Make Houston a High-Tech Hub [Houston Chronicle]
• TxDOT Secures Funding To Replace ‘Functionally Obsolete’ Yale St. Bridge, Could Be Rebuilt within 5 Years [The Leader]
• Using Utility Right-of-Way Could Cut Costs of Bayou Bike Paths, Says Houston Parks Board [Houston Chronicle]
• The View from WordPress Founder Matt Mullenweg’s Museum District Midrise Apartment [Houston Chronicle]
• Australian Artist Konstantin Dimopoulos To Paint Houston Trees Blue [Culturemap]
• A Nearly Comprehensive List of Houston Food Trucks [Eating Our Words]
• NASA Releases Low-Res Video of Mars Rover Descent [KHOU]

Photo of Esperson Building roof: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Volunteers Building Mud Schoolhouse in Third Ward [Culturemap]
• Downtown Lunch Scene Continues to Slim as BB’s Cafe Becomes Catering Service [Prime Property]
• Del Frisco’s Grille To Replace Ava Kitchen in West Ave [Culturemap]
• Galveston To Revisit Noise Ordinance after Police, Business Owners Say It’s Too Subjective To Enforce [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston’s I-69 Traffic Expected To Increase 150 Percent by 2035 [Houston Chronicle]
• Cleveland Municipal Airport Seeks Improvements, Expansion To Spur Economic Development, Tourism [Cleveland Advocate]
• Port of Galveston Seeking New, Cheaper Bids for Downtown Transportation Terminal [Galveston County Daily News]
• Metro Board Approves November Ballot Measure for Future Transportation Funding [Houston Chronicle]
• Galveston Park Board To Consider Proposal To Remove Trash Barrels, Halt Litter Removal from Private Beaches [Houston Chronicle]
• Some Lifeguards Now Armed To Provide Security on Seawall Beaches [Galveston County Daily News]
• First Case of Human West Nile Virus Reported in Montgomery County [Woodlands Villager]
• City Council Proposal Would Allow Closed-Door Meetings on Discussions of Real Estate Transactions [Houston Chronicle]
• Fundraising Effort Begins To Get a David Adickes-Designed Statue of Houston Comedian Bill Hicks [Art Attack]
• Who’s Behind the Texas Pipe Sculptures in Eclectic Menagerie Park off Highway 288 at Bellfort? [The Great God Pan Is Dead]
• Astronaut-Free Mars Lander Curiosity Completes Parachute and Sky Crane Landing; Now Ready for Off-Roading [USA Today]

Photo of Gale Crater: NASA/JPL-Caltech

• Forensic Team Finds More Skeleton Parts at Park Memorial Site [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Isabella Court’s Gallery Row Trades Bryan Miller Gallery for San Antonio Import David Shelton [Glasstire]
• Interfaith Group Voices Support of Raise for Striking Janitors [KUHF News]
• City of Bellaire Buying House on Jessamine St. Next to Library [Bellaire Examiner]
• Brookfield Buying Houston REIT Verde Realty for $366 Million [Realty News Report]
• Dallas Developer of Luxury Rental Units for Seniors Buying 35 Acres in The Woodlands [Houston Business Journal]
• Photos of New Salvation Army Transitional Living Center Under Construction North of Minute Maid Park [SalArmyHouston]
• Metro Board Meeting Today To Select November Ballot Measure for Future Transportation Funding [Houston Chronicle]
• Other Factors Beside Drought Caused Massive Tree Deaths in Texas, Report Says [Austin-American Statesman, via Off the Kuff]
• In Battle To Replace Public Housing Destroyed by Ike, Galveston’s New Mayor Scuffles with HUD [Wall St. Journal]
• Who’ll Be Kissing Whom at Chick-fil-A Today [KHOU]

Photo of investigators at Park Memorial site: Matt Sampsell/News 92 FM

• Houston Leads Top 10 U.S. Metro Areas in Segregation by Income, Followed by Dallas, San Antonio, Finds Pew Report [Houston Chronicle]
• Leaked Public Housing Details Include Mixed-Income Development, ‘Scattered Sites’ [Galveston County Daily News]
• Pearland’s Lower Land Costs a Draw to Developers [Houston Chronicle]
• Trader Joe’s Developer Weingarten Says Retailer Will Make Alabama-Shepherd Area Stronger [Houston Business Journal]
• Inside the David Adickes Museum in David Adickes’s Former Huntsville High School with David Adickes [Culturemap]
• World’s Largest Passenger Aircraft Flies First Houston-Frankfurt Flight out of IAH [Houston Chronicle; video]
• Metro Receives $11M Federal Grant To Track Maintenance on Buses, Trains [KUHF]
• I-10 Eastbound Lanes Between US-59, Gregg St. Closing This Weekend [Bellaire Examiner]

Photo: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr pool

• Grand Pkwy. Expansion Already Spurring Development Boom North of I-10 in Katy [Houston Chronicle]
• Caldwell Cos. Planning Cypress Boardwalk Development Where Residents Can Boat to Work, Restaurants, Shops [Prime Property]
• Brooklyn Athletic Club Taking Over Zimm’s Little Deck Space on Richmond, Adding Bocce, Croquet [Culturemap]
• Light Rail Construction on Wheeler Near UH To Resume After Metro Agrees To Provide Alternative Access Road [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• New $24M Galveston-Bolivar Ferry Goes into Service Today [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston B-Cycle To Add 20 Kiosks, 205 Bikes Inside the Loop by October [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Hurricane Season To Begin for Real Along Texas Coast [SciGuy]

Photo of Allen’s Landing: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Galveston Home Sales Jumped 10% in First Half of Year [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston-Galveston Passenger Rail May Be Revived; Bus Service To Come First [Houston Chronicle]
• 35-Mile Stretch of US-59 from 610 to Montgomery and Liberty County Line To Be Named I-69 [abc13]
• Rice Design Alliance Competition Asks Participants To Create Master Plan for Museum Park Super Neighborhood [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston’s First Legal Bourbon Distillery Set To Launch in 2 Months in Tomball [Eating Our Words]
• Letters, Parrot Removed from Shuttered Fiesta at Dunlavy and West Alabama [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Tunnel Restaurant Howdy Burger Locked Out for Not Paying Rent [Prime Property]
• Bee Wrangler Removes ‘Texas-Sized’ Beehive from Pasadena Home [KHOU]
• ‘Creative’ Jobs Grew 8% in Houston Since 2001, Had Economic Impact of $9.1B Last Year, Finds Study [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Montrose Fiesta: Candace Garcia

• Kaplan Cos. Planning 7-Acre Apartment Complex Along T.C. Jester North of Washington Ave [Houston Chronicle]
• 57 Single Family ‘Villas’ Going Up on Old Woodlands Athletic Center Site In Grogan’s Mill [Woodlands Villager]
• Closure of Strip House Downtown Now Appears To Be Permanent [29-95; previously on Swamplot]
• Sudden Closure of Events with Elegance Hall on Highway 290 near FM 1960 Surprises Party Planners [abc13]
• Hotel Occupancy Tax Revenues Already Up, League City Promoting Itself as a Destination [Galveston County Daily News]
• New Public Pool in Galveston a ‘Luxury We Can’t Afford,’ Argue Councilmembers [Galveston County Daily News]
• High Occupancy Toll Lane Now Open on Southwest Fwy. Between Downtown and Texas 6 [Houston Chronicle]
• Researcher Developing Early Warning System for Galveston Seaweed Invasions [Galveston County Daily News]
• City Unveils New Logo To Market La Marque [Galveston County Daily News]
• Harris County Mobile App Allows Smartphone Users To Report Potholes, Downed Trees [Houston Chronicle]
• Inside Glen Douglas’s Domed Concrete Pipe-Organ Home Along Sims Bayou [Houston Chronicle]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Midway Breaks Ground on 6-Story, Mixed-Use CityCentre Building [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Council Approves Construction of Burger King, Convenience Store on Broadway After Entrance Is Moved Away from Church [Galveston County Daily News]
• Discovery at Spring Trails Community Near I-45, Hardy Toll Rd. Now Goes by Harmony [Houston Business Journal]
• County, State at Odds over Bolivar Wastewater System Project [Galveston County Daily News]
• Council Mulls Cutting La Marque Library Budget or Closing It In Face of $1M Budget Shortfall [Galveston County Daily News]
• Megabus Cancels Routes Between Houston and Austin [KHOU]
• Recent Flooding Nearly Washes Away Private Road to Cypress Woman’s Home [Houston Chronicle]
• Creekside Park, Sterling Ridge Power Lines Still Threatened by Dead Trees [Woodlands Villager]
• Houston Tops Forbes’ List of ‘America’s Coolest Cities To Live’ [Forbes]
• Windows Phone App Greenway Tells You When and Where Traffic Jams Likely To Occur [Good]

Photo of mural at Shepherd and Nett: Ruben Serrano via Swamplot Flickr Pool