Headlines

• City Council Votes To Increase Property Tax Exemptions for Seniors [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston Sells Pollution Credits Gained by Upgrading Almeda Sims Sewage Treatment Plant for $5.7 Million — To Broker and Area Chemical Makers Eager To Emit More VOCs, Nitrogen Oxides [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Following Law Change, Saint Arnold Brewery on Lyons Ave. Begins Selling Beer To Tourists [Houston Business Journal]
• Silver A4 Audi-Only Rental Car Company Silvercar Opening Hobby Airport Location Next Month [Houston Business Journal]
• National Trust for Historic Preservation Puts Astrodome on Its ‘Most Endangered’ List [Houston Chronicle]
• Operator of Recovery House in Conroe Trying To Raise Money for Sprinkler, Alarm System, Electrical Upgrades Ordered by Fire Marshall [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Burned Eagle Landing Home in North Harris County Still Steaming Neighbors 1 Year After Fire [Click2Houston]
• Possums and Raccoons Taking Over from Rats and Bees at Abandoned Spring Branch House [My Fox Houston]
• Union Pacific Unveils Billboard Campaign To Shoo People Off Its Train Tracks [KUHF News]
• Pico’s Mex-Mex Will Close Its Bellaire Location After Move to Former Ninfa’s and Maggie Rita’s Spot on Kirby [29-95]

Photo of “pop-up” sculpture by Lee Littlefield, I-10 at 610 West: d.gerhardt via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Harris County Sports Authority To Debate Astrodome Bids Today, Make Recommendation Next Week [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• At $6M, Astrodome Debt Actually Less Than Previously Thought [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• More Properties Sold in May Than During Any Month in Houston’s History [Prime Property]
• Former Big Woodrow’s Operator Raising Money on Kickstarter To Open Cypress Ice House [Houston Business Journal]
• Public Meeting on Tolled Texas 288 Flyovers Planned for June 27 [Houston Chronicle]
• Red-Light Camera Opponent Calls on Sugar Land To Let Voters Decide [Houston Chronicle]
• ‘One Bin for All’ at Best a Pipe Dream, Worst a Boondoggle, Says Critic [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot]
• Improvements to 3 Midtown Parks Nearly Complete [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Seabrook Extending Trail System 1.3 Miles with Help of Federal Grant [Houston Chronicle]
• Should Houston Try Harder To Protect Neighborhood Trees? [KUHF]

Photo of the West Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Century-Old Heights Sycamore Downed To Make Way for Construction; Might Be Used for Furniture [Houston Chronicle]
• New Smashburger Opening Next Week in Katy The First in 5-year, 11-Franchise Development Deal [Houston Business Journal]
• Slideshow: The Retail Openings at the Galleria [Prime Property]
• Spring Shadows Residents Concerned Proposed Business Park Will Increase Traffic, Decrease Property Values [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Study To Consider New Freight Rail Connection, 4-Lane Bridge to Pelican Island [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• $110M Project Will Study How to Eliminate Long Waits at East End Train Crossings [KUHF]
• The Palm Steakhouse Reopening July 8 After Renovations [29-95]
• Renovations at 6 Carrabba’s Italian Grill’s Underway [Houston Business Journal]
• Montrose Dunkin’ Donuts Still Coming Soon Despite Missing ‘Coming Soon’ Sign [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
• Midtown’s Hopping Bar Scene Seems To Come at Washington Ave’s Expense [Eater Houston]
• Houston Companies Make List for Having Highest Greenhouse Gas Emissions [Culturemap]
• Slideshow: Exhibit Features Significant Downtown Architecture Projects of Last 30 Years [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of gate at Pine Vale and Hill in Aldine: Robert Boyd via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Two Galleria Westin Hotels on the Market with Combined Total Value of $210M [Houston Business Journal]
• Falcon Group Planning Kirksey-Designed Gated Community on Galveston’s East End [Houston Business Journal]
• 35,000 Households To Receive Single-Stream Automated Curbside Recycling in Late July [Houston Chronicle]
• 515 Post Oak’s $7.5M Renovation by Ziegler Cooper Now Complete [Prime Property]
• Clear Lake Regional Medical Center Finishes $92M Expansion [Prime Property]
• Grand Parkway, I-10 Connector Linking Katy and Cypress on Pace for December Opening [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• To Accommodate Future Growth, Hitchcock Investing in City Technology Upgrades, Water Storage Tanks, New Water Lines [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Heights Blvd. ‘Yarn-Bomb’ Installation Destroyed By Vandal [abc13]
• League City Votes To Expand Skate Park [Galveston County Daily New ($)]
• Houston’s First Confirmed West Nile Virus Mosquito Sample Found in Northeast Harris County [Click2Houston]
• The Sixth Ward House, Addition Connected by a See-Through Floating Dining Room [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Buffalo Bayou at West Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Urban Land Institute Report Calls for More Green Space, Affordable Housing, Walkable Connections Downtown [KUHF]
• New BBVA Compass Plaza Perks Include Internet-Equipped Gym Equipment, Cafeteria, City Views [Culturemap]
• Heights Ford Dealership Undergoing $12M Renovation, But Not Changing That Oil Derrick Sign [Houston Business Journal]
• Hotel Galvez’s Old Bernardo’s Restaurant Now Open with New Name, Look, Menu [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Billionaires Open Drive-Thru Donut Shop on Westheimer in River Oaks [Culturemap]
• Residents Ask Conroe Not To Annex Them [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Fracking Beginning Today at Cleveland Oil Site [Cleveland Advocate]
• 25 Years Ago, Moody Gardens Brought White Sand to Galveston [Houston Chronicle]
• A Little Visual History of the Shamrock Hotel [Prime Property]
• Redux: Houston’s Top 10 Small Churches and Temples, Architecturally [Art Attack]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• New 22-Story BBVA Compass Plaza in the Galleria Now Open [abc13]
• Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee Bringing 9 More Locations to Houston [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• ‘Napping Center’ with Beds by the Hour Wants To Expand to IAH [Houston Chronicle]
• League City Gives Preliminary Approval to Historic District [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Parts of Galveston Could Be Under Water in 20 Years Due to Erosion, Says Professor [Hair Balls]
• City Seeking Companies To Work on ‘One Bin For All’ Project [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Cleanup Crews To Move Bodies in Cemetery Near Galveston Bay Superfund Site [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

Photo of the Whole Foods on Waugh Drive: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Harris County Receives 19 Bids for Astrodome Renovation [Houston Chronicle]
• One Bid Wants the Dome Recognized as a Historical Landmark [KUHF]
• KB Home Buying Up Hundreds of Acres Along West Side of Lake Houston [Prime Property]
• Scott Gertner Looking for New Location for Closed Houston Pavilions Club [Houston Business Journal]
• True Food Kitchen To Join Whole Foods for Phase II of BLVD Place [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Happy’s Pizza Debuts in Houston Today on Crosstimbers; More Locations to Follow [Houston Business Journal]
• Commuting from Outlying Houston Cities Causes Major Flux in Daytime Populations [Houston Chronicle ($); map]
• Downtown’s Greenlink Picks Up an Average of 895 Riders a Day [The Highwayman]
• Federal Study Finds That Race Affects Home Buying, Renting [US News and World Report]
• Whole Exceeds the Sum of ‘Gimmicky’ Parts at Minute Maid Park [Grantland]

Photo of the former Great Indoors on I-10 near Beltway 8: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Harris County Continued To Receive Astrodome Proposals Until Yesterday’s Self-Imposed Deadline [Culturemap]
• Texans’, Rodeo’s Tenant Rights Will Be Taken into Consideration for Dome Decision [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Scott Gertner Quietly Closes Sky Bar on Top of Former Houston Pavilions [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Company Hired To Install Galveston Seawall Parking Signs Files for Bankruptcy [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Businesses Unhappy with Move to Triple Rates for Commercial Garbage Collection [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Lee Littlefield’s Work Influenced by Bayou Flora [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Williams Tower: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Today is the Day for Astrodome Proposals [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston’s Grocers Supply Co. Buys Other Houston Grocer Gerland’s [Houston Business Journal]
• Roots Bistro on Westheimer Closes After Investor Balks [Culturemap]
• Construction of East End Lagoon Nature Center To Begin [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Mason Park Bridge Project an Important Link for Houston’s Bike Trail Network [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Growing Number of Dead Dogs Being Illegally Dumped in Settemont Ditch near Beltway 8 [abc13]
• Houston Street Artist Anat Ronen Brings Her Art Indoors for Station Museum Show [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Galveston County’s Safest and Deadliest Areas to Swim [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Aldi’s 11th Houston-Area Location Will Open Next Week on Cypress Creek Pkwy. [Prime Property]
• Gensler Aims to Boost Street, Tunnel Activity in Design of Skanska’s Capitol Tower [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Upscale Steakhouse Number 13 Planned for Pelican Rest Marina [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Tampa’s Landeavor Buys Sedona Lakes Master-Planned Community in Manvel [Prime Property]
• Construction at Highway 290, Mangum Causing Businesses To Lose Customers, Say Owners [abc13]
• Westheimer’s Palm Houston Steakhouse Even Closer to Reopening [Eater Houston]
• Draft of Short-Term Rental Rules Rejected by Galveston Commissioners [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• The Weather Channel Names Houston Among Top 5 Cities Vulnerable to Hurricanes [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Neighborhood Names That Have To Go, Part Deux [Keep Houston Houston]
• Hanging Out with Conroe Outdoor Sculpture Artist ‘The Bottle Tree Dude’ [Ultimate The Woodlands]
• Houston’s Top 10 Churches and Temples, Architecturally Speaking [Art Attack]

Photo of parking garage at Jefferson and Brazos: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Galleria-Area Hotel Royal Sonesta Undergoing $25M Renovation [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston One of Least Riskiest Markets to Invest In, Finds “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company Survey [Prime Property]
• No-Swim Advisory Lifted at Galveston’s 8-Mile Road Beach [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Ties with Miami in Survey on City Parks Access [KUHF]
• Houston Marathon Route Altered To Be Flatter, Avoid Busy Spots like Elysian Viaduct, I-10 Underpass [abc13]
• Yes, EaDo Is Lame, But Keep Houston Houston Blogger Is Wrong About Neighborhood Names [Houstonia Magazine]

Photo of Westheimer near Fountain View: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• HISD Selling High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice at S. Shepherd [The Leader via Culturemap]
• Westview Business Park at Beltway in Spring Branch To Be Completed Soon [Houston Chronicle]
• Online Skycam Lets You Track Progress of Downtown’s $67M SkyHouse Apartments [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• For $26,000 a Month, This Moroccan-Style Manor Could Be Yours [Prime Property]
• Capital Grille Opening Second Houston Steakhouse with Location in CityCentre Four [Culturemap]
• Sugar Land Decides To Study Red Light Cameras [abc13]
• Brass Shavings Found in Well Forces Oak Ridge North to Implement Water Restrictions [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Fake Houston Neighborhood Names Have Got to Stop [Keep Houston Houston]

Photo of Buffalo Bayou: Alex Luster via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Renderings Released of $156M Houston Hobby International Terminal [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Metro Educating Houston Drivers About Sharing the Streets with New Light Rail Lines [KUHF]
• First 290 Rehab Project Completed with New Access Ramps at Barker Cypress Rd. [The Highwayman]
• Reliant Park Has More On-Site Parking Than Any Other Big Stadium Complex in America [KUHF]
• Spindletop Restaurant Atop the Hyatt Has Been Rotating Around a Changing Downtown Skyline for 40 Years [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Graffiti Artists Painting GreenStreet This Week [abc13; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Spindletop Restaurant: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• M-M Properties To Develop Hermann Park Plaza Apartments [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Company Relocations Bringing in Business for Houston Residential Brokerages [Houston Business Journal]
• Independence Heights Eyed for Affordable Housing Developments [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Burger Guys Opening Third Location with Trailer in Beaumont [Eater Houston]
• Historic Designation Could Complicate Pelican Island Bridge’s Replacement [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Houston Environmentalists, Businesses Paying More Attention to Fine Dust Pollutant [The Texas Tribune]
• Sargassum Seaweed Invasion on Galveston Beaches Expected To Be Weaker This Year [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Art Car Being Sold on eBay To Help Fund Dance Company’s New Midtown Digs [Culturemap]

Photo of Montrose Blvd. bridge over US-59: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Today is the Last Day To Protest Property Values in Harris County [abc13]
• Means Knaus Partners Building Energy Corridor Commercial Development Two Oak Park on Spec [Houston Business Journal]
• Ronnie Killen Buys Former Pearland School Cafeteria, ‘Hopefully’ 3 Months Away from Opening New BBQ Restaurant [Eater Houston]
• D&T Drive Inn Manager Fell in Love with the ‘Soul’ of the Old Enid St. Dive [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of construction at Welch and Driscoll: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool