Headlines

• Council Vote on $7.35M Loan To Turn 806 Main St. Building into J.W. Marriott Delayed at Least a Week [Prime Property]
• Downtown Tunnels To Have Consistent, Reliable Mobile Phone Coverage by Next Year [KHOU]
• Drilling of Water Plant Well in Village of Creekside Park Keeping Residents Up All Night [Woodlands Villager]
• League City Voters To Decide on Red-Light Cameras in November Election [Galveston County Daily News]
• Woodlands Red-Light Cameras Operators Paying $200K In Fines Back to Motorists on Technicality [Houston Chronicle]
• Texas Parks Department Seeking Corporate Partners To Help Make Up For 21% Budget Cut, Visitor Decline [KUHF]
• State May Need To Administer Water Rights by ‘Priority’ During Lingering Drought [Houston Tomorrow]
• Car Wash Restaurateurs Behind Facundo Cafe Opening Restaurant in Garden Oaks by December [Culturemap]
• Former Lake Conroe Prudential Affiliate Merging With Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene [Houston Business Journal]
• Roy Vargas Returns To East End Tex-Mex Eatery La Palmita [Galveston County Daily News]
• First Look at Mia’s, the First of Carrabba’s 3 New Restaurants on Kirby [Eating Our Words]

Photo of Spindletop Restaurant at Hyatt Regency Houston: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Building Permit Value 14 Percent Lower Than This Time Last Year, Finds Greater Houston Partnership [KUHF]
• Council Vote Today on $7.35M Loan To Turn Downtown Building at Main, Rusk into Luxury Hotel [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Nordstrom May Take Sears Space at Woodlands Mall [Shop Girl]
• Redesigned Pasadena H-E-B To Open August 8; Now One of Largest of Chain’s Stores in Houston Area [Pasadena Citizen]
• Noise Ordinance Opponents Want To Create Program of Voluntary ‘Certificates for Sound’ [Rocks Off]
• Harris County Commissioners Pass Resolution Supporting Extension of Metro General Mobility Payments [Houston Chronicle]
• Megabus Moves Downtown Stop to Pierce and Travis [Houston Chronicle]
• Charting Metro Ridership from 1997 to 2012 [HAIF]
• Houston Named One Of America’s Emptiest Cities Based on Homeowner Vacancy Rates [Yahoo! Homes via Houston Agent Magazine]

Photo of Midtown Terrace, 4640 Main St.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Galveston Must Replace 569 Units of Public Housing Flooded by Ike, Declares HUD [Galveston County Daily News]
• Officials Confirm Sam’s Club Will Leave Texas City, Open in La Marque Next to I-45 [Galveston County Daily News]
• City To Start Drainage Study in Flood-Prone League City Historic District, Improvements in Shellside [Galveston County Daily News]
• West U Council Passes on On-Street Parking Pilot Program [InstandNewsWestU]
• Delay in Releasing I-45 Expansion Public Meeting Report; No Progress Planned for Project [Home in the Heights]
• Third Local Brio Tuscan Grille Opening in Pesce Spot Next Month [Houston Business Journal]
• Richmond Between Wakeforest, Buffalo Speedway Could Reopen as Early as Thursday [West University Examiner]
• Midtown Tree Thief Caught on Camera [Click2Houston]
• Outlining Houston’s ‘Walled Garden’ [Houston Strategies]

Photo of former Pesce and Borders, Kirby at West Alabama: Ken Barnes

• More Than Half of the 9,500 Apartments Under Construction in Houston Are Inside Loop or Near Galleria [Prime Property]
• League City City Council Considering 8 Percent Refund of 2012 Property Taxes [Galveston County Daily News]
• Bayou Place’s Samba Grille Closes Doors Downtown, Rumored To Be Looking for New Location [Culturemap]
• Not Enough Money To Permanently Dry-Dock Battleship Texas, Say State Officials [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Texas Trees Weakened, but Not Killed Outright by Drought, Finds New Report [StateImpact Texas]
• Anahuac on the Verge of Bankruptcy; Financial Troubles Stem from Water Plant Breakdown in 2010 [Houston Chronicle]
• Harris Co. Commissioners To Vote on Extending Metro’s General Mobility Payments This Tuesday [Bellaire Examiner]
• Houston Will Lead Nation’s Cities in Economic Growth, Says Mayors’ Report [Texas on the Potomac]
• Slideshow: Inside Houston’s Most Expensive Hotel Rooms [Culturemap]

Photo of Alabama Theater Trader Joe’s: Brett Falkenhagen

• Greenpeace Unveils Shell-Spoofing Billboard Off I-45 Near Oil Company’s Downtown HQ [Houston Chronicle]
• Pleasure Pier Safe Despite Appearance of Broken Concrete on Support Beams, Say Officials [Galveston County Daily News]
• Hobby Airport Reopens Entrance Ramp after 10-Month Closure for Renovations [abc13]
• Bike Trail Being Installed Under Cartwright Bridge at Oyster Creek in Missouri City [Fort Bend Sun]
• Council Approves Funding to Renovate Briarmeadow Park; Tennis Court, Walking Trail, Pavilion Improvements Planned [Memorial Examiner]
• ‘No One’ Understands New Braunfels Can Ban [Dallas Morning News via Off the Kuff; previously on Swamplot]
• Spring Creek House Has Flooded 23 Times Since 1979 [abc13]
• Tony’s Among Highest-Grossing Restaurants in U.S. with $20M in Food Sales Last Year, Says Forbes [Culturemap]
• New Classic Texas License Plate Debuts with Black-on-White Retro Design [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of hoax Shell billboard off I-45 downtown: Jess Wilson

• New Buc-ee’s Near Texas City Outlet Mall Will Get Sales Tax Rebate, Oversized Sign [Galveston County Daily News]
• Shenandoah’s Eastwood Village OK’d; To Feature Hilton Hotel, Unnamed Restaurant [Woodlands Villager]
• Sam’s Club Likely To Leave Texas City, Open in La Marque Next to I-45 Walmart [Galveston County Daily News]
• Pearland Sam’s Club on Schedule To Open in October [Pearland Journal]
• I-10 Eastbound Lanes Between Studemont, I-45 Closing This Weekend for Houston Ave. Bridge Repair [Houston Chronicle]
• Sugar Land City Council Approves $1M Worth of Sidewalk Repairs [Sugar Land Sun]
• City of Cleveland Could Pay $1M If Red Light Cameras Removed Before End of 5-Year Contract [Cleveland Advocate]
• Mayor Parker Talks Up Houston’s Economy, Culture on Last Night’s ‘Colbert Report’ [Houston Chronicle]
• Slideshow of Reopened Governor’s Mansion [Austin-American Statesman]

Photo of Discovery Green: James Ray via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Cameron Management Buys Downtown’s Historic Esperson Buildings for a Second Time [Prime Property]
• Demo of Park Memorial Condos at Memorial and Detering Almost Complete [HAIF; previously on Swamplot]
• Median Price of Houston Houses Hits All-Time High in June at $171K, Finds HAR Report [Houston Chronicle]
• Nearly 6-ft. Alligator Caught in Heights Garage [Newswatch]
• ‘Explosion’ of Mosquitoes on the Way After Rain, Warn Experts [Click2Houston]
• Reality TV Show About Alligator Hunters, Swamp People Holding Auditions in Beaumont This Sunday [Culturemap]
• Inside 902 Nance, Former Warehouse Turned Artist Studios North of Downtown [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Tries To Go Green [The Economist via Houston Tomorrow]

Photo of Fifth Ward gas station near 59 feeder: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Woodlands Pavilion Ranks as Third-Busiest Amphitheater in the World with 138,700 Ticket Sales So Far This Year, Says Pollstar [Rocks Off]
• New Buc-ee’s Near Texas City Outlet Mall Could Be Biggest Yet; Commission Mulls Sales Tax Rebate [Galveston County Daily News]
• OKRA To Open Charity-Funding Bar in Former Red Cat Jazz Café’s Downtown Location [Houston Business Journal]
• West End Gastropub Opens in Former Westheimer Car Wash [Culturemap]
• Cypress Creek Rose 23 Feet Higher Than Normal During Last Week’s Rains [Click2Houston]
• June May Have Been Houston’s Biggest Real Estate Sales Month in 5 Years [Houston Agent Magazine via Tom Plant’s Houston Real Estate Blog]
• H-E-B Montrose Market Earns LEED Silver Certification [Houston Business Journal]
• Latest Arrivals in Upper Kirby’s 25-Year-Long Transformation from Used Car Lots and Tire Shops to Upscale Retail and Restaurants [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of former Trinity Portland Cement Company site at N. Hutcheson and Freund: HAIF user Kylejack

• UH Hires Developers of Reliant, Dynamo Stadiums for New $105M Football Stadium [Hairballs; previously on Swamplot]
• Tree-Planting Initiative, Retail Study for Galveston’s Broadway Blvd. Competing for City Sales Tax Funds [Galveston County Daily News]
• Petition To Remove Cleveland’s Red Light Cameras To Be Presented Today [abc13]
• Sugar Land Looking To Invest Up To $40M in Street Reconstruction [Sugar Land Sun]
• Mayor Rolls Out New Water Conservation Task Force [Houston Chronicle]
• Neighbors Want Demolished-Apartment-Lot-Turned-Dumping Ground on Holly View Dr. Cleaned Up [Click2Houston]
• After Houston’s Heaviest Rainfall in 2 Years, More Showers Expected This Week [Houston Chronicle]
• Floodwaters in Residential Streets attracting Alligators, Snakes, Fire Ants [abc13]
• Diners Detain Alligator in Oyster Creek Restaurant Parking Lot [abc13]
• Does Houston Have the Highest Standard of Living in the World? [Houston Strategies]

Photo of David Adickes sculptures: paramourblue via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Gensler Designing 12-acre Mixed-Use Project Across Railroad Tracks from Highland Village Shopping Center [Prime Property]
• Barnaby’s Cafe Opening Fifth Location This August in Old Convey Sushi Place in Market Square [Prime Property]
• More Than 35 Multifamily Developments Under Construction in Houston [Houston Business Journal]
• President of Real Estate Company Peterson Group Charged with Filing Loan for Business That Didn’t Exist [Houston Chronicle]
• Proposed Third High School for Pearland ISD Would Open in 2013, Help Ease Overcrowding [Pearland Journal]
• Houston Added to National Association of Home Builders’ Improving Markets Index [Houston Agent Magazine]
• Highway Tolls Set To Go Up 10 Cents for EZ Tag Users, 25 Cents for Cash on September 8 [Houston Chronicle]
• Battleship Texas Leaks Plugged With Aluminum Plates, Epoxy; $100M Needed for Permanent Dry-Docking [Glasstire]
• Rain Causes Flooding, Power Outages, Snarled Traffic Throughout Houston; Flash Flood Watch Still in Place [Houston Chronicle; slideshows here, here and here]
• A Day With Jerry Stroope, Owner of 3,000 Beehive Colonies in Brazoria, Galveston, Harris Counties [Culturemap]

Photo of yesterday’s flooding in Cypress: Ralph and Valerie Thrasher/KHOU

• Mayor Wants $410M Bond Referendum for City Improvement Projects on November Ballot [Houston Chronicle]
• Hundreds of Houston Janitors Launch Citywide Strike Against Cleaning Contractors [Houston Business Journal]
• Carl’s Jr. Planning Second League City-Area Site with FM 646 and I-45 Location [Galveston County Daily News]
• Water Level in Matagorda County Highest It’s Been Since Hurricane Carla in 1961, Say Residents [Click2Houston]
• Fire Destroys Historic Trav’s Roadhouse Bar on FM 762 near Hwy. 59 in Fort Bend County [KHOU]
• 8-ft. Alligator Caught in Seabrook; 12-ft., Suspected Pet-Eating Gator Still at Large [KHOU]
• Vandals Cause $5,000 in Damage to Woodforest Golf Club in Montgomery County [Click2Houston]
• Thieves Steal 300-Pound Red Rooster Statue from Arturo Boada Cuisine on Del Monte [Culturemap]
• Volunteers To Survey Heights-Area Sidewalk Problems, Block by Block [Home in the Heights]
• Texas Named No. 1 State for Business, Among Top 5 for Living, Economy, No. 35 for Quality of Life in CNBC Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Texas Sales Tax Revenues Up 15 Percent over Last Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Texas Homeowners Insurance Premiums Have Risen 21 Percent Since 2009, Finds State Report [abc13]

Photo: Stephen J. Alexander via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Boiling Notice in Effect After E. Coli Found in Galveston Faucet Water [Galveston County Daily News]
• Flash Flood Watch Today Throughout Houston [Newswatch]
• Southeast Houston Residents Tired of Flooding Along Ledge and Nathaniel [abc13]
• Galveston Council To Consider Using Sales Tax To Pay for $2.7M in City Improvements [Galveston County Daily News]
• Lake Conroe Could Reach ‘Normal’ Levels for First Time in 2 Years After This Week’s Rain [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Houston Area Ranks Low on Survey Measuring Number of Jobs in Reach of Public Transit Service [Houston Business Journal]
• 450 Solo Drivers a Day Paying Tolls To Use I-45 South HOV Lane, Number Expected To Grow to 2,400 by May 2013 [KUHF]
• Homeowners Challenging Parking Ordinance in Briar Gate Subdivision [abc13]
• Three Years After Ponzi Scheme Sentencing, Hart Gallery Owners May Begin Jail Time This Friday [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Linn Energy’s Mike and Carol Linn Selling Fourth Home in 4 Years: Beachtown Retreat, $2.25M [Houston Chronicle; photo above]
• Sicardi’s West Alabama Building the Latest in Houston’s ‘Gray Box’ Architecture Trend [Arts & Culture Magazine]
• Slideshow: The Restoration of Washington Ave.’s Fire Station No. 6 [PreservationNation]

Photo of 2653 E. Seaside Dr.: HAR

• Finger Will Raze Former Art Institute Building at San Felipe and Sage for Luxury Apartments [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Ikea Becomes Largest Solar Owner in Texas with Launch of Solar Panels at Houston Store [Houston Business Journal]
• Panera Bread Opens League City Location Today in Victory Lakes Town Center [Galveston County Daily News]
• Experts Say Shell Towers a ‘Safe’ Investment for Duncan Money [Houston Chronicle]
• Treasures Files Retaliation Lawsuit After City of Houston Declared Strip Club a Public Nuisance [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Conroe in Talks with Willis About Buying Excess Water Rights from Proposed Catahoula Aquifer Wells [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Humble Man Accused of Selling Foreclosed Home He No Longer Owned for $50K [Click2Houston]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Duncan Family To Buy Shell’s Downtown Headquarters for Record $550M [Prime Property]
• Energy Corridor Building Boom: At Least 17 Office Projects Planned Along West Belt, I-10 [Houston Chronicle]
• The 17 Projects Planned or Under Construction in the Energy Corridor [Prime Property]
• Houston’s 2,800 Apartment Properties Slow To Earn Voluntary ‘Blue Star’ HPD Safety Certification [Houston Chronicle]
• Pleasure Pier Closer to Full Operation with Last Week’s Opening of Galaxy Wheel, Stage [Galveston County Daily News]
• Shellside in League City ‘Just Getting Started’ on Addressing Neighborhood’s Flooding Problem [Galveston County Daily News]
• Grogan’s Mill Residents Concerned Neighbors’ Drainage Ditch Modifications Could Lead to Flooding [Woodlands Villager]
• Bacteria Alerts Up at Galveston County Beaches This Summer [Galveston County Daily News]
• Councilman Wants to Bring ‘Parklets’ to Houston, Allow Parks in Metered Spaces [Houston Chronicle]
• City of Cleveland Unlikely To Face Penalty for Breaking Contract, Removing Red Light Cameras [Cleveland Advocate]
• Building Your Own Bat House To Help Combat Mosquito Problems [Click2Houston]
• A Walk Through DuZER, Palmer Schooley’s Futuristic Zero Energy Duplex Residence in Brookesmith [Houston Chronicle]

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

• Heights Homeowners Sue City over Historic Preservation Ordinance [Off the Kuff]
• Atlanta Real Estate Firm Planning $51M in Houston Deals [Houston Business Journal]
• New Galveston Housing Authority Board Slated To Discuss Moratorium on Mixed-Income Plan Today [Galveston County Daily News]
• Keys To Last Home in Montgomery County Ike Replacement Program Handed Out [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Buffalo Bayou Partnership To Begin Park Overhaul Next Week Near South Bank of Sabine, Allen Pkwy. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Texas Forest Service Sees Rise in Drought-Stricken Trees Falling on Properties [KUHF]
• League City Lifts All Water Restrictions [Bay Area Citizen]
• Woodlands’ Sawmill Park Reopens after 18-Month Makeover to Extend Pool, Remove Iron Bars [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Dixie Farm Rd. Overpass at I-45 Closing for 3 Months Starting July 20 [Bay Area Citizen]
• Work on Stalled SH 105 Bypass Resumes, Cleveland Relief Route Nears Completion [Cleveland Advocate]
• Battleship Texas Likely To Reopen This Saturday [KUHF]
• Menil’s Damaged Picasso Out of Emergency Surgery, Doing ‘Very Well’ [Art Attack]

Photo of Galveston beach: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool