Headlines

• Houston Pavilions Taken Over by Receiver; Sale or Foreclosure Likely [Houston Chronicle]
• New Highrise Buffer Zone Ordinance Passes City Council [Memorial Examiner; previously on Swamplot]
• Shoppers Scurry from Galleria Jewelry Store Robbery Scene [Houston Chronicle]
• 3 Years after Ike, Half of First-Round Federally Funded Projects Complete or Almost Done [Galveston County Daily News]
• Record Hess Tower Sale Closes [Houston Business Journal]
• Duke Realty Buys Christus St. Catherine Medical Buildings in Katy [Houston Business Journal]
• Camping Out for Chance To Buy Air Jordan 11 Concords [Culturemap]

Photo of Gulfgate Shopping Center: Fox 26 Houston

• City Approves Bike-Sharing Program, Leases Fleet of Nissan Leafs [Houston Politics; previously on Swamplot]
• Bankruptcy Means Only Privately Owned Strip of Beachfront in Front of Seawall Could Go up for Sale [Galveston County Daily News]
• Merger Means Sugar Land Skeeters’ Stadium Will Be Constellation Field [Houston Business Journal]
• Music Community Debates Merits of Amended Noise Ordinance [Hair Balls]
• Craigslist Renting Scam Costs Couple $15K [abc13]
• Texas’s Population Grew More Than Any Other State Last Year, Census Says [Texas Tribune]

Photo of Villa de Matel, Idylwood: Molly Block [license]

• Houston Housing Market Continued Climb in November, HAR Says [Prime Property]
• Most Outdoor Burning Restrictions Lifted in Harris County [Memorial Observer]
• Harris County ‘Never Anticipated’ $100K City Drainage Fee Bills for Reliant Park and Downtown Properties [abc13]
• City Sues Owner of Ella Park Terrace Landfill for Flooding Neighbors’ Homes [Click2Houston]
• Lowe’s Tells Galveston It Won’t Construct First Island Store for at Least a Year, Despite Agreements [Galveston County Daily News]
• Galveston Housing Authority Nets $25M for Public Housing Projects [Galveston County Daily News]
• Mytiburger, Building, and Land for Sale in Oak Forest [Eater Houston]
• 58 Years Later, Houston Man Pays $1 Parking Ticket [CBS Houston]

Photo of City Hall from the Hobby Center: Ed Schipul [license]

• Statewide Drought Death Toll: Up to 500 Million Trees [Houston Chronicle]
• County Reconsidering Burn Ban Again Today [Cypress Creek Mirror]
• Mortgage Disaster Creating New Jobs for Paper Pushers [Click2Houston]
• West U Removing 8 Elementary School Oaks along University, Auden [West University Examiner]
• BBVA Compass Plaza Construction Cam [EarthCam via Prime Property]

Photo of Old Harris County Courthouse dome: Joel Salazar [license]

• Houston Architects’ Smallest Homes: 560 sq. ft. and Smaller [Houston Chronicle]
• Ramps Linking I-10 to Grand Parkway Open in Katy [Covering Katy]
• 60 Protestors Hold Candle-Light Vigil for Century-Old League City Oak at FM 518 and Louisiana Ave. [Galveston County Daily News]
• New Football Facility To Replace South End Zone of Rice Stadium Approved [KHOU]
• UH Students Fear Renovation Could Wipe Away Chicano-Themed Mural [Houston Chronicle]
• Kasmiersky Park on Old Magnolia Road Now Boasts 14,000-sq.-ft. Skate Park, Pavilions, Wheelchair Access [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Galveston Board Puts $87,000 Toward Restoration of Beach Pocket Parks Slammed by Ike [Galveston County Daily News]
• Some Stores Still Go All-Out with Holiday Window Displays [Houston Chronicle]
• Building Codes To Tighten Across Texas [Texas Tribune]

Photo of lawn on Quincannon Ln.: Flickr user perro-viejo [license]

• Greystone Replacing Post Oak Ln. Apartments with Apartments [Houston Business Journal]
• Hundreds of Roosters Found in Santa Fe Cockfighting Breeding Ground Raid [CultureMap]
• Brazoria County Lifts Burn Ban [Houston Chronicle]
• Driving into Bayou Trending Right Now [CultureMap]
• Road Widening May Sacrifice Century-Old Oak at FM 518 and Louisiana Ave. [Galveston County Daily News]
• Tracking Electric Bills Over a Long Hot Summer [FuelFix]
• Texas Reservoir Levels Hit an All-Time Low Last Month [KUHF]

Photo of Discovery Green: Flickr user perro-viejo [license]

• Reindeer Prance Across Gulf Freeway, Stop at Bay Area Blvd. Metro Park and Ride [Bellaire Examiner]
• Revived Plan for Second Convention Center Would Include Retail, Offices, or Both [Prime Property]
• City Council Signs Off on $55M Buffalo Bayou Redo [MyFox Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Magnolia Looks To Expand City Limits [Magnolia Potpourri]
• TxDOT Alters White Oak Bayou Detour to Appease Bikers and Hikers [Houston Chronicle]
• Haverstock Hills Apartments Declared ‘Safe’ [Houston Chronicle]
• Things We Lost in the Drought [State Impact]

Photo of Backyard Art, Beer Can House: Elaine Mesker-Garcia [license]

• New Neighborhood ‘Buffer’ Rules for Highrises Go Before City Council Today [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Dynamo Stadium No More — BBVA Compass Acquires Rights to New Downtown Soccer Site [MyFox Houston]
• Bellaire Council Approves ‘Urban Village’ Zoning Around Proposed Future Westpark Rail Station Site [Bellaire Examiner]
• Galveston Agencies Will Renovate 2 Dilapidated, Historic Homes on Ave. L [Galveston County Daily News]
• Survey Points to Area Job Growth, Scores Houston the Best Place for Landlords [CNN Money, via Prime Property]
• Top Office Buildings Spending $15K-$25K on Holiday Decorations [Houston Chronicle]
• Attention Tubers: More Big Changes on the Way for Comal, Guadalupe Rivers [KHOU; previously on Swamplot]
• Thanks to Fires, Flood Risk Now Higher in Texas [State Impact]

Photo of Texas Medical Center: Kyle Nielsen

• 20 Arrested as Occupy Houston Occupies East Loop/610 Entrance Ramp [KHOU; slideshow]
• Suspect in ‘Ocean’s 11’-esque, $6 Million Houston Jewelry Heist Speaks [Star-Telegram]
• Company Planning Bullet Train Between Houston and Dallas [click2Houston]
• Execs Would Rather Go Virtual Than to Houston, Study Finds [CNET News]
• Possible Culprit in East Texas Wildfire: Smoldering Roots [Houston Chronicle]
• Gingerbread Astrodome, Alabama Theater, Discovery Green: Local Architectural Landmarks Dominate Holiday Build-Off [Eating Our Words]

Photo of Jaume Plensa sculptures on Allen Parkway at Studemont: Jay Lee [license]

• Bikers Decry Closure of Popular White Oak Bike Trail [Houston Chronicle]
• Surveillance Video Captures Mob of Thieves Striking Hermès on Post Oak [abc13]
• UH Architecture Students Try Their Hands at Designs for Proposed Galveston Levees [UH]
• Harris County to Implement Wildfire Protection Plan [abc13]
• Drought Leaving Texas Rivers, Lakes with More Bacteria [State Impact]
• Ozone Pollution Spiked in Texas This Year [Texas Tribune]
• UT Lab Studies Algae’s Potential To Become Source of Biofuel [State Impact]

Photo of Brazos Bend State Park: Visitor Center Mike Fisher [license]

• Swarm of Thieves Ransacks Hermès on Post Oak; Storefront Glass Broken at Galleria Louis Vuitton [Culturemap]
• NASA Audit: More than 500 Collected Moon Rocks, Comet Chunks Missing Since 1970 [Space Ref]
• Proposed 130-Mile Coastal Recreation Area Gains Prominent Proponents [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• As Population Moves West to Katy, So Do Major Hospitals [Houston Community Newspapers]
• Clear Channel May Lose Conroe Billboard After Clear-Cutting 15 Trees on I-45 [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Pilfered Christmas Tree Anonymously Returned to Hyde Park, Now Secured with Steel [Culturemap]
• Annual Gingerbread Construction Competition Planned for Market Square Park [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of Fort San Jacinto: Patrick Feller [license]

• Katy Residents Protest New Aldi Discount Grocery Store Next to Oak Park Trails [abc13]
• Council Puts Brakes on Auto Repair Shop Regulations [Houston Chronicle]
• Overwhelmed by Emails, Attorney General To Start Charging for Online Public Records Requests [Texas Watchdog]
• County Approves Ban on Rocket and Missile Fireworks for New Year’s Eve [Memorial Examiner]
• Rumors Over Possible Buyer of Dunlavy Fiesta Shopping Center [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Bulkhead Collapses at Texas City Dock, Oil Spill Avoided [Galveston County Daily News]
• Getting to the Bottom of Those Red Dots Around Montrose [Art Attack]

Photo of Houston Ship Channel: Roy Luck [license]

• Devastating Drought, Lack of Visitors Prompt Parks & Wildlife to Ask for Millions in Aid [State Impact]
• Business Is Booming at The Woodlands’ 11 Hotels [Houston Chronicle]
• Mayor Agrees To Put More Ike Funds Toward Repairing Houses [Houston Chronicle]
• Crumbling Lafitte Hotel Will Be Turned Into Apartments with Ground-Floor Retail [Galveston County Daily News]
• Bellaire Principal Says Food Cart Threat to ‘Character and Quality’ of the Community [Bellaire Examiner]
• Entire Houston Center Complex Now LEED Gold Certified [PR Newswire]
• With No Other Offers, Lender Takes Pointe West Resort in Foreclosure Auction [Galveston County Daily News]
• Biz Journals Ranks West U No. 1 for Quality of Life in South [The Business Journals]
• League City Historic District’s Northern Secessionists [Galveston County Daily News]
• Birdwatching Excitement at Rice University [Rice News]
• Sugar Land Skeeters Name Their Furry Green Mosquito Mascots [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of alligators at Brazos Bend: Mike Fisher [license]

• Grilling, Smoking Ban Lifted at Most City Parks [abc13]
• Shell Renews Downtown Lease for Nearly 1.3M SF, Will Stay at One and Two Shell Plaza Through 2025 [CoStar Group]
• Metro Buys 15 Acres Near Highway 288 and FM 518 for New Pearland Park & Ride [Houston Business Journal]
• 287-Acre Waterfront Property in Dickinson Set for Auction [Houston Business Journal]
• Heights Houses All Decked Out for the Holidays [Art Attack; slideshow]
• Neighborhood Tree Stolen from Hyde Park [Hair Balls]
• Mobile Version of Houston Disaster Website Launches [Bellaire Examiner]
• Algorithm Predicts Red Light Runners [MIT News]
• Squatters Claim More Than $8 Million Worth of Tarrant County Properties [Star-Telegram]

Photo: Joel Olives [license]

• Menil Collection Tree and Art Guys’ Spouse Snapped in Two by Vandals [Culturemap]
• Researchers at Odds with Texas Government Over Predicted Flooding of Galveston [State Impact]
• High-Tech Traffic Timing in League City [Galveston County Daily News]
• County May Ban Rocket and Missile Fireworks for New Year’s Eve [Houston Chronicle]
• Hospital District Bursting at the Seams [KUHF]
• Restored, Expanded Julia Ideson Library Downtown Reopens Today [Houston Chronicle]
• Benefit Homes Project Fundraiser Sets Record With Sale of Towne Lake Home [Houston Business Journal]
• Home Maintenance at Sam Houston Park’s Museum Village [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Hartman Bridge: Mike Fisher [license]