Headlines

• New Mural Near Market Square Park Part of ‘Houston Is Inspired’ Campaign [Culturemap]
• ConocoPhillips To Lease 850,000 SF in Energy Center Three, Energy Center Four [Houston Business Journal]
• A Closer Look at Methodist Hospital’s Expansion Plans [Houston Business Journal]
• Dunkin’ Donuts Opening Today in Westchase Strip Center [Yelp; previously on Swamplot]
• Builders Started 6,442 New Houston Homes in First Quarter, Finds Metrostudy [Prime Property]
• Park & Ride Now Offering Service from Katy to Uptown Houston [Click2Houston]
• Downtown MegaBus Location Causing Morning Traffic Snarls at Corner of Pierce, Travis [The Texican]
• Safe Passing Ordinance Coming Up Before City Council Today [The Highwayman]
• Council To Consider Including Memorial Park in a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone on May 15 [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Tourism Generated $15.5B for Local Economy Last Year, Up 11 Percent [Houston Chronicle]
• Should Houston Be Kept a Secret? [The Texican]
• Konstantin Dimopoulos’s ‘The Blue Trees’ Installation Makes Its Way to Galveston [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of mural near Treebeards and Market Square Park: Swamplot inbox

• One Hughes Landing Now 35 Percent Leased, Should Be Completed by September [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Club Opens Renovated Space at One Shell Plaza [Houston Business Journal]
• Construction Company Getting Plenty of Business in Texas Building and Converting Grocery Stores [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Museum District, Tanglewood Tru Meals To Turn into Snap Kitchens By Early Summer [Houston Business Journal]
• Studio Movie Grill Hasn’t Canceled League City Theater, Just Moving Slowly [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Accidents Increase After Turn Lanes Installed Along Palmer Hwy. To Decrease Accidents [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Houston-Galveston Area Council Studying Growing Traffic Congestion in Fort Bend County [KUHF]
• Giant East African Snails Spotted for First Known Time in Houston [Click2Houston]
• Registration Open for Houston Historic Preservation Fair on May 18 [HAIF]

Photo of Studemont at Hicks: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston’s Hottest Zip Codes for Home Sales [Click2Houston]
• Kirby Towers’ Multimillion-Dollar Renovation To Add Rooftop Decks, New Facade [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• How Discovery Green Has Influenced Downtown Development [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• El Gran Malo To Take Over Recently Shuttered Pepper Jack’s Spot Downtown [Eater Houston]
• Legal Fight Slows Work on $6M Downtown Galveston Transit Terminal [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Competing Visions of How to Preserve Freedman’s Town’s Brick Streets [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• What Memorial Park Might Look Like in 20 Years [KUHF]
• Even with Reams of Data, Predicting Floods is Hard [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Starting in June, Umbrella Use No Longer Restricted at Galveston’s Stewart Beach [Houston Chronicle]
• The Giant Scope of Invasive Species in Texas [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The Collection of Public Art on University of Houston’s Campus [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• River Oaks Real Estate Listing To Be Featured on Bravo’s New ‘Property Envy’ Show [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Downtown: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Craigslist Scammer Steals Spring Real Estate Listing [KHOU]
• Brokerage Firm Colliers International Opens Third Houston Office with Woodlands Location [GlobeSt.com]
• Energy Industry Draining Houston’s Construction Talent [Houston Business Journal ($)]
• U.S. 59 Northbound Connector to West Loop Northbound Closing This Weekend for Repairs [KUHF]
• League City Residents Complain Parties at Butler Longhorn Museum Too Loud [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• No-Swimming Advisory Lifted at Galveston’s Stewart Beach [Houston Chronicle]
• Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Way It Reviews Refinery Emissions [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Why Houston Has Been Attracting Conventions [KUHF]

Photo of Hermann Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Washington Ave Parking District a ‘Trial Run,’ Could Spark Others in Houston [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Aldi Opening 10th Houston Store Next Week on Texas 6 Near Timber Creek Place [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• U.S. Transportation Chief: Houston Needs To ‘Get Its Act Together’ on Light Rail [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• New Billboards Counting Down Days to Hurricane Season [abc13]
• Landry’s To Open Italian Restaurant Grotto at Galveston Resort in June [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Navigator To Sail from Galveston Year-Round Beginning in 2014 [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Historic Homes Tour Starts This Weekend [The Vindicator]
• Woodlands Township Board OKs Survey of Park and Ride Services [The Woodlands Villager]
• Alligator Sightings Common This Time of Year in Texas [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• City Council To Vote on Midtown Arts and Theater Center Ordinance This Week [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Nearly 1 in 4 Houston Taxpayers Claimed a Mortgage Break from IRS in 2010 [Prime Property]
• City Sets Up Special 311 Report Category for Ashby Highrise Complaints [Keep Houston Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Metro Rolling Out Digital Resources To Educate New Riders [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot]
• La Marque Will Not Institute Quiet Zones at Railroad Crossings [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• State’s $2B Water Plan Fails To Gain Approval in House [StateImpact Texas]
• Endangered Snapping Turtle Found Along Allen Pkwy., Buffalo Bayou [abc13]
• Houston Ballet Cancels Friday Outdoor Show in the Woodlands Because It Might Be Too Cold [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the new Aldi Food Market at 5930 Fry Rd. in Katy: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sports Corporation Will Recommend Demolishing Astrodome If It Can’t Find Anything Better To Do With It [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Repairs Underway for Next Few Days To Fix Huge Sinkhole Along the Loop near Almeda [abc13]
• Fusion Taco To Open in Les Givral’s Kahve’s Old Market Square Space by August [Eater Houston]
• Construction To Begin on 2nd Phase of LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch [Houston Business Journal]
• Ice House, Concert Venue Considered for Sixth St. in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Valero’s Retail Spinoff CST Taking Over 188 Houston Corner Stores [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Metro To Add Fare Enforcement When Light Rail Line Expands Next Year [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Why Houston’s Most Intense Thunderstorm in 3 Years Was Hard To Forecast [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Man Caught on Security Cameras Stealing Cypress Resident’s Tree [MyFoxHouston]
• Texas Can Be a Dangerous Place for Pedestrians, Finds New Report [KUHF]
• Mayor Parker Not Interested in ‘Embarrassing’ Council Members with Another Food Truck Debate [Eating Our Words]

Photo of Richmond Ave. farmers market: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Water Rescues, Downed Power Lines Follow Heavy Saturday Storms [Houston Chronicle]
• CarShare Program Launches in the Energy Corridor [KUHF]
• Los Angeles-Based Laurus Buys Gateway I and II Complex Near IAH [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Plastic Domed ‘Luminarium’ Sets Up on Jones Lawn at Discovery Green [Culturemap]
• Galveston Still Healing 5 Years After Hurricane Ike [KUHF]
• Festival Highlights Texas City’s Million-Dollar Push to Revitalize Sixth St. [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Permits for New League City Homes Up 91 Percent over This Time Last Year [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• $3M Texas City Water Park Gearing Up for Memorial Day Weekend Opening [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Loses Kerrville Bus Company’s Daily Shuttle to Houston [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• La Marque To Consider ‘Quiet Zones’ for Union Pacific Railroad on Hwy. 3 [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Mayor’s Westmoreland House Was Once Home to Rice Students [Houston Chronicle]
• 80 Floating Water Lilies Light Up at Hermann Park Reflection Pond [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Midtown Sears: Pete Molick via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Invesco Puts in $480M Bid for Downtown’s BG Group Place, Reports Real Estate Alert [Prime Property]
• Development Negotiations To Continue as Related Chapter 42 Reforms Move Forward [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• City Approved More Than a Dozen Demo Applications for Houses in Oak Forest, Garden Oaks Last Week [abc13]
• University of Houston Bans Smoking on Campus [KUHF]
• Bloomberg Ranks Houston Among the Fastest-Growing Metropolitan Areas [Bloomberg via Houston Business Journal]
• Property Value Increases Should ‘Touch Nearly All Homeowners’ Over Next 2 Years [abc13]
• Gulf Freeway HOV Lanes Opening Next Month for Weekend Use [The Highwayman]
• Will Seawall Parking Program Cover Its Own Startup Costs? [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Environmentalists Want Public Input on Memorial Park Reforestation Plan [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Pepper Jack’s Closes in Old Cabo Space Downtown [Eating Our Words]
• Bobcat Spotted Near Buffalo Bayou in George Bush Park [Click2Houston]
• 8th Wonder To Host First Tour of EaDo Brewery This Saturday [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of building being torn down at Town & Country Way and Attingham: Robert Boyd via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Air Pollution Mobile Lab To Roam Houston Streets for Next 2 Years Measuring Particulate Matter [KUHF]
• Port of Houston To Spend $700M to Modernize Terminal [Houston Business Journal]
• 17-Story Energy Tower III Near Completion in Energy Corridor Fully Leased [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Galveston Residential Sales Up 17.5 Percent over Same Time Last Year [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Eleven XI Opening in Former Bibas Diner Space on West Gray Next Month [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Moon Tower Inn Owners Planning Second Bar in East Downtown With Voodoo Queen [Eater Houston]
• Houston Has Some of the Dirtiest Air in the Country, Finds American Lung Association Report [KUHF]
• Causes.com Names Houston One of the Greenest Cities in America [Culturemap]

Photo of the Chevron building at 1400 Smith St.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Astrodome Proposals Must Include Funding Source or Else They Won’t Be Considered [KUHF]
• Galveston Housing Authority Approves Agreement with State To Fund Mixed-Income Housing [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Afton Oaks Homeowners Worried About Cut-Through Traffic Going To River Oaks District Development on Westheimer [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Transformation of Branch Water Tavern into Federal Grill Now Complete [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• League City’s Red-Light Cameras To Be Shut Off Today [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• State Budget Panel Endorses $2B Plan for Reservoirs, Pipelines, Other Water-Supply Infrastructure [Houston Chronicle]
• ‘Guerrilla Gardeners’ Plant Seeds with Slingshots in Unused Midtown Parcels [Culturemap]

Photo of construction on the MetroRail north line at Fulton St: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• $2M Project Repaving 33 Blocks of Seawall Blvd. To Begin in February [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Aldi Planning To Open Stores in Webster, Kemah This Year [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Friendswood May Be on the Hook for $1M in Improvements to Brazoria County Land It Can’t Buy [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• State Legislators Say Texas Lags Behind Other States in Health, Education, Environment [KUHF]
• With No Zoning, Deed Restrictions Relied Upon To Protect Neighborhood Character in Houston [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Warmer Winter Temperatures, Spring Freezes May Cut Texas Peach Crop [Houston Chronicle]
• The Story of Zelko Bistro’s 89 Beehives in South Houston, Alvin [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of a 25-foot oak tree being planted at Skanska’s 3009 Post Oak Blvd. office building: Craig Hartley/Skanska

• Texas Supreme Court Rejects Beaumont Landowner’s Challenge to Keystone Pipeline [Fuel Fix]
• ExxonMobil Campus Progress: ‘Like a Small Downtown Being Built from Scratch’ [Houston Chronicle ($); photos]
• Make the Astrodome Houston’s Version of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim [Houstonia Magazine]
• Allen Harrison To Upgrade Chalfonte Apartments, Add to Complex on Enclave Pkwy. [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• La Guadalupana Chef Building Pasadena Shopping Center [Eating Our Words]
• Opponents Sue State Land Commissioner Over Plans to Shut Down Rollover Pass [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• League City To Vote on Ending Red Light Camera Contract [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Woodlands To Stop Use of Red Light Cameras on March 31 [Woodlands Villager]
• Woodlands Creates Bicycle Advisory Task Force [Woodlands Villager]
• West Ave Business Has ‘Increased Dramatically’ with Addition of Jonathan Adler Store [Culturemap]
• Feast, Down House To Join Forces on New Heights Restaurant To Be Built from the Ground Up [29-95]
• Torchy’s Tacos Now Open in Rice Village [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Gerald Hines Receives Cornell University Real Estate Leadership Award [Culturemap]
• New Book Explores Why Houston is the Fastest-Growing City in America [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of El Real Tex-Mex at Westheimer and Waugh: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Government Entities Talk Up Various Plans for Messing with Downtown Warehouse District, Near Northside [Culturemap]
• Aeros Officially Leaving Houston for Des Moines, Transforming into ‘Iowa Wild‘ [HBJ]
• Perry Homes Won’t Quit Building After Founder’s Death [HBJ]
• New ‘Greek Style’ 22-Screen Palladium AVX Theater Opening Next Month on Grand Parkway at West Bellfort Will Include Bowling Alley [Prime Property]
• Montgomery County Food Bank Raising $6.5M To Renovate 60,000SF facility in The Woodlands Trade Center [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Behind Mattress Mack’s Complaints About the Uptown BRT Plan [Off the Kuff]
• North Carolina Wants To Know How Sugar Land Keeps Itself So Clean [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of street bricks, Indiana St. near Commonwealth: Larry Zerante

• City Council Votes To Sue BP for $23M in Damages from Gulf Oil Spill [abc13]
• Galveston Council Votes To Remove Conditions Delaying Reconstruction of Public Housing [Houston Chronicle]
• Deadline for Astrodome Proposals Set for June 10 [abc13]
• Galveston’s San Luis Resort Undergoing $10M Renovation, Opens New Conference Center [Culturemap]
• Ellington Airport Breaks Ground on Seventh Hangar [Bay Area Citizen]
• Houston Developments Going As Fast As They’re Built [GlobeSt.com]
• Washington Ave.’s New Parking District Takes Effect May 1 [The Highwayman]
• Don’t Expect B-Cycle in the Heights Anytime Soon [Off the Kuff]
• Texting While Driving Ban Advances in Texas House [Houston Chronicle]
• Citing Boston Bombing, Houston Officials Want To Expand City’s Surveillance Camera System [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Drought Update Shows Slight Improvement for Houston [Click2Houston]
• City Sells Off Center St. Recycling Facility for Revenue, Seeking Alternative Site [The Leader]
• City Council Decriminalizes Trash Diving in Public Garbage Cans [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• More Than 45 Steamboat Wrecks May Lie at Bottom of Trinity River [Cleveland Advocate]
• 177 Years Later, San Jacinto Battleground Still Turning Up Musket Balls, Other Relics [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• If Hiram Butler Won the Lottery, He’d Buy And Tear Down His Blossom St. Gallery’s Neighboring Townhouses [Culturemap]

Photo of Capital One Plaza: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool