Headlines

• West Ave Katsuya by Starck’s Bento Box Design [Culturemap]
• CBRE Takes Over Leasing and Management of Houston Center; Renovations Coming [Houston Business Journal]
• Opposition to Galveston Public Housing ‘Scattered Sites’ [Galveston County Daily News]
• City Council Voting Wednesday on Red-Light Camera Case [Houston Politics]
• Rains Slow Dead Tree Cleanup, Prescribed Burning of Jones State Forest [Woodlands Villager]
• Kashmere Gardens Residents Upset over Illegal Dumping [abc13]
• Bankruptcy Liquidation Sales at All 5 Houston RoomStores Begins Thursday [Houston Business Journal]
• Installation of Wider Span Drawbridge Near Galveston’s Causeway [Galveston County Daily News]
• Art-Adorned Bus Stops, Benches, and Trash Bins Planned for East End [KUHF]
• Montrose Webcam Monitors Downtown Skyline, Sky [Jackson D. Myers]

Photo of Post Midtown Square construction at Gray and Hadley: InnerLooped

• City, Harris County Spending $6.5M Total To Remove Drought-Stricken Trees from Public Land [Houston Chronicle]
• City Saving Landfill Costs, but Not Turning a Profit on Recycling Pilot Program [KUHF]
• Half of Houston’s Carjackings Happen at Victims’ Homes [Houston Chronicle]
• New Texas City H-E-B Booting 30-Year-Old Watering Hole, Roller Derby [Galveston County Daily News]
• Woodlands MUDs To Consider Mandatory Water Restrictions [Woodlands Villager]
• Lake Houston Level Back to Normal After Recent Rains [Houston Chronicle]
• Dates Finalized for Houston’s Dueling Art Fairs [Culturemap]
• Housing Authority Meeting Tonight on Proposed ‘Scattered Sites’ Public Housing [Galveston County Daily News]
• Byzantine Frescoes’ Removal Embedded in Chapel’s Design [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Elysian Viaduct: Patrick Feller [license]

• New Water Line from Pelican Island Will Help Galveston Water Supply To Weather Big Storms [Galveston County Daily News]
• Booker T. High Raises Cash, Gets Wi-Fi in Effort to Reboot Historic Independence Heights School [Houston Chronicle]
• Dallas Taken off Drought List; Houston Probably Not Next [KUHF]
• UH Students OK $50 Service Fee Hike for New Football Stadium, Hofheinz Pavilion Renovations [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Auto Repair Shop Owners, City Council at Odds over Consumer Protection Changes [Houston Chronicle]
• Motion-Detection Camera Designed for Wildlife Used for Doggie-Door Home Surveillance [KHOU; previously on Swamplot]
• Controlled Burns Will Visit Texas Forests for Next 3 Months [Cleveland Advocate]
• Sugar Land To Survey Satisfaction of Residents with City Programs, Services [Sugar Land Sun]

Time-lapse video from Montrose rooftop: Jackson Myers

• Harris County Included on List of U.S. Terrorism ‘Hot Spots’ [Houston Business Journal]
• Map Shows Ship Channel Demolition Targets [Prime Property]
• That UFO Spotted Over Houston Last Night Was Most Likely a Meteor [Houston Chronicle]
• Controversy over Downtown Homeless Shelter’s New Overnight Open-Door Policy [KHOU]
• Southwest Airlines Eying International Flights at Hobby [Houston Politics]
• Kemah May Regulate Horse-Drawn Carriages [Galveston County Daily News]
• The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North Sales Tax Revenue Sees Double-Digit Increases [Woodlands Villager]
• League City’s Renovated City Hall Should Reopen by End of May [Galveston County Daily News]
• Water Main Break on Braeburn Valley near Tanager Floods Streets [Click2Houston]
• First Meeting To Discuss 13-County Regional Plan Tonight in Galveston [Galveston County Daily News]
• Club Owners form PAC To Fight Recent Noise Ordinance Changes [Houston Politics]
• Last Chance To See the Menil Collection’s Byzantine Fresco Chapel Before Frescoes Leave [Art Attack]

Photo of Hermann Park: Theresa Quintanilla [license]

• Ike Emergency Housing Program Ends Having Housed 17,500 Families [Houston Chronicle]
• Harris County OKs $1M Effort to Replace Traffic Lights with LEDs at 880 Intersections [Houston Chronicle]
• Apache Expands, Extends Lease at Post Oak Central [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Faces Penalties over 1970s Smog Limits [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Near Bottom of List of Biking, Walking Cities [Houston Tomorrow]
• New Sam’s Club at Shadow Creek Ranch Will Open by October [Prime Property]
• Positioning the Texas Gulf Coast as an International Trade Hub [Guidry News, via Houston Tomorrow]
• ULI ‘Development of Distinction’ Awards Honor 9 Houston Projects [Culturemap]
• Downtown Exhibit Depicts Houston in 2020 [KUHF]

Photo of Glenwood Cemetery: Theodore Scott [license]

• Astros Name Change Off the Table Following Fan Backlash [Ultimate Astros]
• Clear Lake City Water Authority Owes Developers More Than $2.24M in Promised Reimbursements [Bay Area Citizen]
• SBA Disaster Loans Available for Homeowners, Renters, Businesses Affected by Jan. 9 Floods [KUHF]
• New Yoshio Taniguchi-Designed Asia Society Texas Center To Open April 12 [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Solar Powered Zap Pickup on the Lot at East Downtown Electric Car Dealer [KUHF]
• Singing Skeletons, Treasure Maps at Galveston’s New Pirate Museum [abc13]
• Preview Night at Uchi Houston [Hank’s Food and Restaurant Blog]

Photo of FM 762 power lines: Theodore Scott [license]

• New Retail Businesses Opening Downtown Get Free Rent, District Grants [Houston Chronicle]
• Landry’s Pleasure Pier Redo To Open by Memorial Day with Whac-A-Mole, Bubba Gump [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Highland Village Apple Store’s Glass Front Peeks Out from Behind the Curtain [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Alternative to Blocked White Oak Bayou Bike Trail Also Blocked [Off the Kuff]
• City Investing $100K from Other Reinvestment Zones in Leland Woods Redevelopment [Houston Chronicle]
• Construction Begins on Fairmont Parkway Expansion [Pasadena Citizen]
• Astros Name Change Seems Unlikely [TM Daily Post]

Photo: Thomas Hawk [license]

• GRB Master Plan Calls for More Downtown Hotel Rooms, Parking Space [Houston Business Journal]
• Hunters Creek Village and Piney Point Village at War Over $11M Storm Sewer System, Kemwood Dr. Flooding [Houston Chronicle]
• Tornado Tally for Wednesday Storms Now at 6 [Click2Houston]
• Baybrook Mall Disappears from H&M’s List of New Locations [Culturemap]
• Houston Joins Nationwide Effort To Improve Building Energy Efficiency 20 Percent by 2020 [Houston Business Journal]
• 1 Houston Center Renamed LyondellBasell Tower [Prime Property]
• State Sues To Close Tiger Mart on Fannin at Gray for Being a ‘Public Nuisance’ [Hair Balls]
• Metro Keeps 3 Bus Routes, Eliminates 6 [Click2Houston]
• Company Campaigning for Monument to Beyoncé in Bayou City [MyFox Houston]

Photo of Tiger Mart, 2111 Fannin St.: Candace Garcia

• Severe Weather Brings Winds, Rain, and at Least One Tornado to Houston [Houston Chronicle; slideshows here and here]
• Cleanup Begins in Areas Struck By Tornadoes [abc13]
• Rain Causes Storm Sewer Backup Near UH Downtown [Click2Houston]
• Yesterday’s Rain Expected To Have Little Effect on State-Wide Drought, Lake Levels [Austin-American Statesman]
• City Council Delays $4.8M Red Light Camera Settlement So Kubosh Brothers Can Join Lawsuit [Houston Chronicle]
• Ship Channel Area Redevelopment Plan Approved, Obsolete Properties To be Demolished [Houston Business Journal]
• State Turns Away River Authority’s ‘Unspecific’ Bid Over Brazos Water Supply [Houston Chronicle]
• 5444 Westheimer Office Building Near Galleria To Get $15M Renovation [Houston Business Journal]
• Sneak Peek Photos of Georgia’s Market Downtown [24-95.com; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Brenham storm damage: Samica Knight/abc13

• Allen Stanford’s Federal Fraud Trial Begins [New York Times]
• Harris County To Sue Mortgage-Recording Firm Over $11M in Unpaid Mortgage Fees [Houston Chronicle]
• Continued Use of League City Red-Light Cameras Going to Ballot [Galveston County Daily News]
• Almost-Complete $2.5M Carlton Woods Home Destroyed in Fire [Woodlands Villager]
• River Oaks Shopping Center-Style Upgrade for Strip Center on San Felipe [Prime Property]
• New Clubhouse for Houston Oaks Country Club To Open by September [Houston Chronicle]
• Woodlands, Cinco Ranch Rank as Second and Third Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities in U.S. [Houston Business Journal]
• Public Comment Period on 290/610/10 Intersection Reconstruction Opens [Houston Tomorrow]
• Toll Road Being Considered for Tomball Parkway [KUHF]
• ‘Crack 4 Sale’ Sign Posted on W. Cavalcade Telephone Pole Near I-45 [Newswatch]
• Galveston’s Newest Tree Stump Carving, at Adoue Park [Galveston County Daily News]
• Vintage Lounge Destroyed by Fire [Culturemap]

Photo of Chase Bldg. (former Gulf Bldg.), 712 Main St.: Adam Baker [license]

• Bush Intercontinental Airport Breaks Ground on $160M Regional Terminal [KUHF]
• Fight Over Brazos Water Supply Between River Authority and Environmentalists, Farmers, Dow Chemical [Houston Chronicle]
• New Astros Owner Considers Name Change, Will Lower Ticket Prices [KHOU]
• City Courting Energy Group CH2M Hill for St. Mary’s Ln. Headquarters [Houston Politics]
• Galveston County Commissioners Consider Buying Back 11.39 Acres from Lowe’s [Galveston County Daily News]
• Michael Kors Store Opening on Woodlands’ Market Street in March [Culturemap]
• Texas Instruments Shutting Down Wafer Factory in Stafford [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Post Oak Central: Joseph De Palma [license]

• Multi-Million-Dollar Settlement of Red-Light Camera Suit Goes Before City Council This Week [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Gas Prices Expected To Hit $4-ish by Memorial Day [GasBuddy, via Fuel Fix]
• Noble Energy Leases Former HP Building on Highway 249 [Prime Property]
• First Houston H&M Will Open at Baybrook Mall This Spring [Shop Girl]
• Report Finds Steady Rent Increases, Flat Occupancy Rates in Houston Over Past Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Commuters, Businesses Frustrated with Construction Along 610-290 Interchange [abc13]
• Harris County Property Tax Deadline Draws Near [Houston Community Newspapers]
• Feds Sending Texas $31M for Wildfire Recovery [KUHF]
• Flood Control District Adds Plants to Langham Creek Drainage Channel [Cypress Creek Mirror]
• Woodlands Real Estate Firm Branches Out into Tree Removal [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of Main Street: Imelda Bettinger [license]

• Freeport Residents Protest Proposed Gas Plant Neighbor [Hair Balls]
• KBR Warehouses on Clinton Dr. Being Cleared [Prime Property]
• Volunteers To Plant 25,000 New Trees in Devastated Memorial Park This Saturday [KUHF]
• First of Seven Illegal Sign Ad Billboards Dismantled After Plea Agreement [Houston Chronicle]
• Food, Energy Costs Lead City Inflation Rate Increase [KUHF]
• Average Rate on 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Falls to Record Low of 3.88 Percent [Houston Chronicle]
• A Subway Map of the American Highway System [The Atlantic Cities]

Photo of View from Houston Ship Channel: Louis Vest [license]

• Storm-Buffer Gulf Coast Recreation Area Would Bring Tourists and Jobs, Study Says [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Rejected Keystone XL Pipeline to Houston Will Likely Move Ahead Along Revised Route [FuelFix; previously on Swamplot]
• Stuffed Toy Tiger on Top of Abandoned Hotel Entertains Drivers near Will Clayton and Eastex Freeway [abc13]
• Stolen Pontiac Grand Am, Sierra Pickup Truck Pulled from Huffman Bayou [Lake Houston Observer]
• Envisioning a ‘Medical Branch Corridor’ Linking Downtown and UTMB in Galveston [Galveston County Daily News]
• University of Houston Art Studios Flood Again [Culturemap]

Photo of Downtown: Fang Guo [license]

• Unidentified Blast Causes Explosion in Salvation Army Apartment at Main and Blodgett [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Home, Property Sales Continue to Climb, Says HAR Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Brookings Institution Report Calls Houston Fastest-Growing Economy in North America [Houston Chronicle]
• Brays Bayou Association Seeks More Land To Prevent Flooding [Bellaire Examiner]
• New Book by Historic Preservation Specialist Chronicles Houston’s Modern Architectural History [Your Houston News]
• Newly Landmarked Houston Heights Woman’s Club Unveiling Historical Marker [Facebook]

Photo of Downtown aquarium Ferris wheel: Flickr user Kim-bodia [license]