Headlines

• City Forgives Landry’s Back Taxes in Exchange for Demolishing Old Fire Alarm Building Near Aquarium [Houston Chronicle]
• Johnson Development Planning 550 Homes in Katy, South of I-10 at Pederson Rd. [Houston Business Journal]
• Frontier Equity Buys 15-Story Kirkwood Tower III in Energy Corridor [Houston Business Journal]
• Courtyard by Marriott at Mixed-Use Nassau Bay Town Square Development Next to JSC Opens July 17 [Houston Business Journal]
• Galveston Industrial Board Votes to Help Farmer’s Alloy Fabricating Expand with $250K in Sales Tax Money [Galveston County Daily News]
• Galveston at Risk of Losing $586M in Federal Disaster Money if New Mayor Halts Rebuilding Public Housing Damaged by Ike [Galveston County Daily News]
• Total Value of Houston Construction Contracts Down 11% From Last Year, Finds Study [KUHF]
• Lenwood Johnson Trying To Preserve Freedmen’s Town’s Last Rowhouses [Hair Balls]
• West U Once Lured Residents with Low Lot Prices, Wide-Open Spaces, Frequent Flooding [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of mascot, BRC Gastropub: Karen Dressel

• Burger King’s Return to Galveston Compromised by Accompanying Food Mart’s Alcohol Variance Problems [Galveston County Daily News]
• Valet Parking Now Available at IAH, Coming to Hobby Later This Year [Click2Houston]
• West U Considering On-Street Parking Limits in Pilot Programs This Month [InstantNewsWestU.com]
• Houston Police Testing New Black-and-White Patrol Vehicles, Update To Roll Out Over Next 2 Years [Kingwood Observer]
• Mosquito Spraying Underway at Freedom Over Texas Site During ‘Worst’ Season in Memory [KHOU]
• Seattle Architect Rick Sundberg Adapts To Building in Houston’s Weather Extremes [Culturemap]
• Slideshow of Contemporary Homes on the Market [Prime Property]

Photo of The Orange Show: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Galleria’s Hotel Derek Sold to Operator of Austin’s Driskill, To Undergo $4.5M in Improvements [Prime Property]
• MetroNational Building Third Nexen-Like 14-Story Office Tower Near Memorial City Mall; Murphy Oil Leasing Half [Houston Chronicle]
• New Developer Hired to Finish Discovery at Spring Trails Residential Community Near Riley Fuzzell and Rayford [Houston Business Journal]
• Prestige Builders’ Monsour Taghdisi Begins Construction of 3-Story $1.5M Mod ‘Dream House’ in Tanglewood [Culturemap]
• Schiller/Del Grande’s Ava Kitchen Closes at West Ave [Culturemap]
• $60M Deal Will Move Maury Rd. Railroad Tracks, Clear Hardy Toll Road Path to Downtown [Houston Politics]
• Seven Months After Christening, $24M Galveston-Bolivar Ferry Has Yet To Set Sail [Galveston County Daily News]
• Tree, Pavilion Cleanup Efforts Continue at Rob Fleming Park after June Storm [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Houston’s Ghost Ramps and Never-Used Highways [HAIF]
• Isn’t It Time for Houston To Have a Serious Discussion About Zoning? [Culturemap]
• The 5 Most Scenic Restaurants in Houston [Culturemap]
• Library Exhibits Century-Old Photos of Houston Oil Derricks, Fire Stations, Mansions, Hurricane Aftermath [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Glenwood Cemetery: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• More Than 700 Shoppers Show Up at Willowbrook Mall for Opening of Second Houston H&M [Culturemap]
• Rooms To Go Expanding Katy-Area Distribution Center Near I-10 and Igloo by 30 Percent [Houston Business Journal]
• Burst Pipe Floods Downtown Library [Newswatch]
• Illegal Dump Site Thriving near Kuykendahl and Ella in North Harris County [abc13]
• Metro Aims for November 6 Voter Referendum on ‘General Mobility’ Payments [West University Examiner]
• Houston Has Second-Largest Population Increase in Census Survey (After New Orleans), Leads Texas Cities [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of Beer Can House, 222 Malone St.: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Astros May Replace Minute Maid Park Train with Kiddie Ballpark Fundraiser Ads When Team Rebrands Next Year [Ultimate Astros]
• Talks To Add a Third Lane of Traffic to Bagby St. in Midtown Halted; Reconstruction Continues [InnerLooped]
• Sugar Land City Council Considers Proposal for $2.98M Citywide Surveillance System [Sugar Land Sun]
• Yesterday’s Houston Smog Worst in 8 Years [Houston Chronicle]
• Texas Had Less Polluted Coastal Waters, Cleaner Beaches Thanks to Drought Last Year [Houston Chronicle]
• FEMA Paying To Elevate 6 Flood-Prone League City Homes [Galveston County Daily News]
• Firm Offers To Plant Six 4-in. Oaks in Restitution for 3 It Cut Down on Gulf Fwy. in League City [Galveston County Daily News]
• P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Following Cheesecake Factory to Baybrook Mall [Galveston County Daily News]
• City Tentatively Approves Design for Bigger, Shade-Providing Memorial Park Running Deck [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Minute Maid Park train: Mark Hodgins via Flickr [license]

• Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. Agrees To Explore Putting Reliant Arena Replacement Inside Astrodome [Houston Chronicle]
• Historic Houston Begins Fundraising Campaign To Reopen Salvage Warehouse [Home in the Heights; previously on Swamplot]
• League City Council Approves Borrowing up to $75M for New Police Station [Galveston County Daily News]
• Prudential Gary Greene Realtors Switches to Better Homes and Gardens Franchise [Houston Business Journal]
• Residents of Walden Pond Condos in Friendswood Say Property Is Being Neglected [Click2Houston]
• West U City Council Still Considering Changes to On-Street Parking Rules [InstantNewsWestU]
• Woman Arrested After Warning Drivers of West Dallas Speed Trap [abc13]
• Man Arrested in Connection with Dolce Vita Restaurant Fire, 14 Others [KHOU]
• Despite What iPhone Said, It Wasn’t 108 Degrees Outside Yesterday [SciGuy]

Photo: Candace Garcia, via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Two Galleria Hotels To Be Rebranded as Part of Sonesta Chain [Culturemap]
• International Bancshares Takes Possession of Randall Davis’s Pink Diamond Beach Condos Near Seawall [Galveston County Daily News]
• Gulf Fwy. Star Toyota Fined $78K for Cutting Down 3 Live Oak Trees in Way of Proposed Parking Lot [Galveston County Daily News]
• Richmond Construction Heads West of Kirby; Drainage Work To Continue for Several Weeks [West University Examiner]
• Port of Galveston Board OKs Money for Conceptual Study of a Third Cruise-Ship Terminal and New Pelican Island Facility [Galveston County Daily News]
• FEMA Grant To Help Complete Jersey Meadows Detention Basin on Former Golf Course [Cypress Creek Mirror]
• Alligator Kills Family’s Dog in Seabrook Lake [KHOU]
• Galveston Sets Record with First Recorded 100-Degree June Day [Houston Chronicle]
• Power Demand Sets June Record in Texas [Fuel Fix]

Photo of Richmond Ave. construction west of Kirby: West University Examiner

• Houston Receives $15M Federal Grant To Connect Bike Trails With Transit Stops [KUHF]
• League City’s Rebuilt City Hall Debuts with Drive-Thru Teller Window [Galveston County Daily News]
• Galveston To Consider Third Cruise-Ship Terminal [Galveston County Daily News]
• Logan Brown Leaves Grubb & Ellis To Form Own Real Estate Firm [Houston Business Journal]
• Henri Bendel Opens in Galleria [Culturemap]
• Slideshow: Winners of Houston Apartment Association’s Property Awards [Houston Business Journal]
• Battleship Texas Repairs Leak, Reopens [KUHF]
• League City Lifts Water Emergency After Main Water Line Leak Fixed [Galveston County Daily News]
• Invasive Piranha-Like Fish Species Found in Houston Bayous [Click2Houston]
• Galveston’s Lessons from Ike Lead to Changes in Emergency Preparedness for Hurricane Season [abc13]
• Houston Pride Festival and Parade Draws 150,000 [Memorial Examiner]
• Houston Police Charge Man in Menil Picasso Vandalism [Houston Chronicle]
• Sculptures of Space-Race Astronauts Gagarin, Glenn To Be Installed in Front of S. Wayside Gragg Bldg., Original NASA Headquarters [Culturemap]
• Early History of Air Conditioning in Houston [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Lawndale Art Center mural: Candace Garcia

• Beyoncé’s Mom Tina Knowles Sells Farnham Park Home for Nearly $3M after 7 Months on the Market [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Woodlands Office Building The Reserve at Sierra Pines Sells to NY REIT for $40.5M [Houston Business Journal]
• Children’s Museum Fort Bend Location at Imperial Development To Open in 2015 [Houston Business Journal]
• Southmore Overpass at Texas 288 Closing This Weekend for Bridge Repair [Newswatch]
• League City Issues Water Restrictions after Main Water Line Leak [Galveston County Daily News]
• None of Texas in ‘Exceptional’ Drought Any More; 10 Percent of State Completely Drought-Free [Click2Houston]
• Documenting the Drought ‘In All of its Ugliness’ [Texas Monthly]
• Cesar Pelli’s 30-Year-Old Four-Leaf Towers Condos Still Have Rosy Skin [Art Attack]

Photo of 20 Farnham Park Dr.: HAR

• Culberson Slips Funding Limits into Federal Spending Bill To Block Light Rail Expansion Along Richmond, Post Oak [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Chain Gets Permits to Demolish, Then Rebuild Santa Fe McDonald’s on Hwy. 6 [Galveston County Daily News]
• Condemned Cleveland ‘Rape House’ Razed on Ross Ave. [Cleveland Advocate]
• Bagby St. Construction To Stop; Public Works Wants Third Pass-Through Lane on Two-Lane Street [InnerLooped]
• City To Contribute $2M To Contain Buffalo Bayou Erosion Near River Oaks Country Club [Houston Politics]
• Waller County To Hire Attorney To Investigate Landfill Proposal [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• ROVs Allowed Back on Bolivar Peninsula Beaches [Galveston County Daily News]
• City Council To Consider ‘Phasing Out’ Plastic Bags [Houston Politics]
• Aurora Picture Show Opens New Digs in Former Artist’s Studio on Bartlett St. [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of razed Ross Ave. house: Cleveland Advocate

• Houston Housing Inventory at a 5-Year Low as Home Sales Rise for 12th Straight Month [Prime Property]
• Construction Starts on Bridgeland’s First Elementary School [Cypress Creek Mirror]
• Proposed Indoor Boat, RV Storage Facility in Texas City Faces Continued Neighborhood Opposition [Galveston County Daily News]
• Cypress Creek Greenway Project Envisions Parks, Trail Systems from U.S. 290 to U.S. 59 [Houston Chronicle]
• Signs Come Down, But Piñatas Still Banned in Some City Parks; Littering Policy Under Review [KHOU]
• Monkey Bites Woman in Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid [Galveston County Daily News]
• The 10 Best Places To Get Married In Houston, Now That Vargo’s Is Toast [Hair Balls]
• A Guide to Light Rail Lunching in Houston [Eating Our Words]

Video of oak tree move: City of League City

• KBR Selling 136 Acres in the East End [Prime Property]
• Meyerland Residents Debate Proposed Transitional Housing Development for Single Parents [Bellaire Examiner]
• Demolition of Old Texas City Hugh School Paving Way for New Middle School [Galveston County Daily News]
• First Look Inside 8th Wonder Brewery, Coming This Fall to the East End [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
• California Sub Shop Moving HQ To Houston, Opening at Least 50 Area Locations, Starting in Missouri City [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Developers Vow ‘Barroom Brawl’ if Metro Stops Making ‘Mobility’ Payments to Area Cities [Houston Chronicle]
• $350M of State Funds Earmarked To Ease US Highway 290 Congestion [KUHF]
• Investigation Finds 699 Cases of Metro Security Cameras Disconnected or Not Working Properly [KHOU]
• City of Richmond Breaks Ground on Wessendorff Park Project [Fort Bend Sun]
• Mayor Expected To Seek Donations for Emancipation Park Makeover, Now Priced at $33 Million [Houston Chronicle; ; previously on Swamplot]
• Energy Companies Consider Building Crude Oil Pipeline from West Texas to Texas City [Galveston County Daily News]
• Artist Spray-Paints Stencil on Picasso Painting in the Menil [Click2Houston; video]
• BB’s Café Expanding into former Laurier Café and Wine space on Richmond near Greenway Plaza [Culturemap]
• Looking Back at The Genuine Texas Handbook, 30 Years Later [Hair Balls]

Photo of I-10: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• TxDOT Considering Elevated Ramp Through Hermann Park as Part of Texas 288 Tollway [abc13]
• Opening of Hwy. 105 Bypass Delayed Indefinitely over Asphalt Mix [Cleveland Advocate]
• League City’s Single-Family Home Sales Up 13.7 Percent [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston Design, Construction Services Firms ‘Can’t Hire Fast Enough’ During Shale Surge [Houston Business Journal]
• Galveston Not Budgeting Enough To Address Blighted Properties, Say Officials [Galveston County Daily News]
• Galveston Park Board Votes To Stop Seaweed Maintenance on West End Residential Beaches [Galveston County Daily News]
• Harris County Likely To Be Affected by EPA’s New Soot Limits [Houston Chronicle]
• Oak Ridge Begins Drought Contingency Plan, Including Voluntary Water Restrictions [Courier of Montgomery County]
• City Lost 19 Percent of its Water in FY2011 Through Old Leaky Pipes [Houston Chronicle]
• With Limited Water Rights, State Struggles To Find Water To Maintain Rivers and Bays [Houston Chronicle]
• Via Colori Planning Block-Long Bagby Chalk Mural for Fall Festival [Culturemap]

Photo of Downtown from Medical Center: Russell Hancock

• Second Conroe H-E-B Headed to Corner of Loop 336, Texas 105 West [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Torchy’s Tacos To Replace Harold’s in the Heights; What’s To Become of the Iconic Red Signs? [The Heights Life; previously on Swamplot]
• Cadence Files To Build Bank Branch on Main St. Downtown [Houston Business Journal]
• 50,000 Sue BP over 500,000 Pounds of Chemicals Released from Texas City Site in 2010 [Galveston County Daily News]
• Texas City Refinery Emissions Might Be 5–24 Times Greater Than Thought [Galveston County Daily News]
• Surveillance Increased at Crosby, U.S. 59–York Corridor Sites Known for Illegal Dumping of Animals, Cars [Houston Chronicle]
• Liberty County Bans Some Aerial Fireworks To Prevent Wildfires [Cleveland Advocate]
• Group Forms to Find Solutions to Galveston’s Transportation, Parking Problems [Galveston County Daily News]
• Public Meeting on June 18 To Discuss Metro’s General Mobility Program [Off the Kuff]

Photo of yesterday’s demo of the Pavilion on Post Oak: Bill Burge and George Cushing

• H&M at Willowbrook Mall Opens June 28 [Culturemap]
• Toby Keith To Open Country Bar in West Oaks Mall with 95-ft. Guitar-Shaped Bar [Houston Business Journal]
• LoneStar Marine Shelters Debuts Offshore Living Quarters That Can Mount a Crane on Its Roof [Galveston County Daily News]
• PageSoutherlandPage/DLR Group Named Architects of UH’s New Football Stadium [Press Release on KHOU; previously on Swamplot]
• Emerald Galveston Holdings Shortens Name, Lowers Price of Seawall Condos in Push To Sell Units [Galveston County Daily News]
• Caldwell Cos. Launches ‘Custom’ Homes Section of Towne Lake Master-Planned Community [Houston Business Journal]
• Real Estate Sector Produces $31B of Houston’s Gross Product, Finds Biz Journals [Houston Business Journal]
• Homeowner Association Scammer Gets 35 Years in Prison [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Hiram Clarke Residents Upset over Mobile Home Parked in Median [The Isiah Factor]
• Moving at Half a Mile per Hour, League City Oak Pushed 1,500 Ft. into New Home [Galveston County Daily News]
• Montgomery County Fire Official Warns Burning Last Summer’s Dead Trees Could Start This Summer’s Wildfires [Magnolia Potpourri]
• Voluntary Water Restrictions Set for The Woodlands [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Lawndale’s ‘Famous Monsters’ Mural Painted Over; New Mural To Debut Aug. 24 [Glasstire]

Photo of Hiram Clarke mobile home: The Isiah Factor