Public Health

Public Buildings, Public Health, Quicklink

19 Comments

THE NEWEST PLACE TO GO DOWNTOWN Public Restroom, Tranquillity Park, Rusk and Smith Streets, Downtown Houston A reader writes: “Until this morning I had never noticed this public restroom (really just a port-o-john with a thoughtfully labeled enclosure around it) downtown next to Tranquility Park at the corner of Rusk and Smith. Everybody knows that Swamplot is Houston’s most trusted source for breaking news about the city’s top cat 5 dump hotspots, so I figured I’d send y’all this update. I definitely feel sorry for whoever has to maintain this facility, but if the city has decided to provide a refuge for the park’s inhabitants in an attempt to discourage the use of secluded downtown doorways or parking garage stairwells, then I think it’s a great idea.” Photo: Swamplot inbox

77002, Downtown, Public Buildings, Public Health

Public Health

08/20/14 12:00pm

City May Soon Can Rules That Force Houston Food Trucks To Space Out

Quicklink, Restaurants

4 Comments

CITY MAY SOON CAN RULES THAT FORCE HOUSTON FOOD TRUCKS TO SPACE OUT Waffle Bus and Bernie's Burger Bus Food Trucks, University of Houston, Houston What makes Houston’s food truck scene so quirky, so scrappy, so outrÃ©? Well, it could be some of the wacky rules mobile food units are required to follow when they’re operating within city limits — to guard against terrorism, major explosions, and other all-too-common street-food hazards. Three such rules — the fire code regulations that mandate that trucks park no closer than 60 ft. away from one another and that propane-equipped vehicles stay out of Downtown and the Texas Medical Center, and the health code ruling that subjects owners of mobile food vendors to fines if they’re foundÂ parking within 100 ft. of any table or chair — could be going away soon, however. A task force charged with looking into the issue is recommending the city 86 those particular regulationsÂ but keep in place others, including the requirement to visit a commissary every day. A city council committee meeting this afternoon will be the first opportunity for public comment on the proposed changes; the city’s Laura Spanjian tells Culturemap’s Eric Sandler that she doesn’t expect to the Greater Houston Restaurant Association to object to the recommendations. [Culturemap; more info] Photo: UH

City Council, Food Trucks, Mobile Food Vendors, Public Health, Restaurants

02/25/14 4:00pm

How You, Too, Can Browse Interactive Maps of Houston’s Cancer Hotspots for Fun and Panic

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Maps, Online Resources, Public Health

11 Comments

Screenshot of EPA Map of Houston Showing Relative Cancer Risk from Air Toxics

How do you feel about Houston’s airborne cancer hotspots? That’s easy! Just pick up a copy of the latest issue of Cite magazine and run your fingers over the top of it: Cite 93‘s front cover has been embossed with a map diagramming the area’s cancer risk. The places where airborne toxins mapped by the EPA are most prevalent are inÂ the pits.

The mapped information here isn’t exactly fresh — it’s from the 2005 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment, and the data only account for airborne known-cancer-causing toxins that are tracked by the EPA. Though it’s posted online, the map version isn’t exactly easy to find. But bravely thumbing his nose at Houston’s proud and longstanding tradition of hush-hushing location-based cancer hazards, Cite editor Raj Mankad gives Swamplot readers the secret recipe for finding the browsable map:

Air Toxics, Online

Air Pollution, Air Quality, Hazards, Maps, Online Resources, Public Health

09/10/13 4:15pm

W. A. Parish Plant One of the Worst Polluters in the Country, Finds Report

Environmental, Pollution, Public Health, Quicklink, Richmond

12 Comments

W. A. PARISH PLANT ONE OF THE WORST POLLUTERS IN THE COUNTRY, FINDS REPORT According to a new study published byÂ Environment America, NRG Energy’s coal-firingÂ W. A. Parish Electric Generating Plant, on Smithers Lake outside of Richmond, is really good at being dirty. Though the plant has been messing around with a way to clean itself up in the past year or so, the report, published today, still fingers it as the 5th dirtiest in the country when it comes to carbon emissions. And here, in order, are 1-4: “Georgia Power Co.â€™s Plant Scherer, Alabama Power Co.â€™s James H. Miller Jr. Plant, Luminantâ€™s Martin Lake in Texas, [and] Amerenâ€™s Labadie in Missouri.” [StateImpact; Environment America; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Flickr user Joe A.

77469, Air Pollution, Energy, Fort Bend County, Industrial Pollution, Pollution, Richmond

Medical Buildings

09/04/13 10:00am

Former Houston Rocket Royce White Putting His Name on Mental Health Clinic on W. Bellfort

Openings and Closings, Public Health, Westbury

7 Comments

Royce White might never have suited up for the Houston Rockets, spending most of his rookie season toiling in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and — umm,Â tweeting, but it appears he has found a way to contribute to the city. Last week, White — who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder — announced that his foundation, Anxious Mind’s, which he started when he was playing college ball at Iowa State, will partner with Bee Busy Wellness Clinic to open a freeÂ mental health facility on W. Bellfort. The clinic will also provide dental services and primary care and will open this January inside the Rubik’s Cube-like former Frank Neighborhood Library at 6440 W. Bellfort, shown here, just west of Westbury and Meyerland. White played in only 16 games last season; he was caught up in disputes with Rockets management about travel arrangements — he hates to fly — and team doctors. In July, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Royce White to open mental health center in Houston [Ultimate Rockets]
Royce White (@Highway_30) Is Saying Weird Things On Twitter Again [Hair Balls]

Photo: Allyn West

77035, Medical Clinics, Openings and Closings, Public Health, Renovations, Vacant Buildings, Westbury

08/29/13 10:00am

Studying Houston’s Roadside Air Quality

Environmental, Freeways and Toll Roads, Houston Data, Public Health, Quicklink

8 Comments

STUDYING HOUSTON’S ROADSIDE AIR QUALITY Another source of Houston’s pollution has got the attention of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: tailpipes. Starting in January, the agency will place a pair of monitors within 160 ft. of 2 our most heavily used roads — including the Southwest Fwy. near the Westpark Tollway — to record the amount of nitrogen dioxide leaked into the air. Apparently, the stuff can beÂ pretty nasty, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue: “The Environmental Protection Agency said studies have measured concentrations of the gas to be as much as 100 times greater near major roadways than away from them. Scientists, meanwhile, have linked the pollutant to asthma and other lung ailments, especially among children and the elderly.” The results of these monitors, adds Tresaugue, might lead the city to make decisions about preventing schools and residences from being built in and around affected areas. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: AA Roads

Air Pollution, Air Quality, Freeways, Houston Data, Public Health

05/30/13 4:35pm

How Houston’s Air Got Better

Houston Ship Channel, Pollution, Public Health, Quicklink

27 Comments

HOW HOUSTON’S AIR GOT BETTER During the past decade, Houston’s notoriously polluted air has become — well, if not quite good, then not quite as bad, says NPR’s Richard Harris. (Pay no attention to what that ozone app may or may not tell you.) How? Well, it seems that pollution regulators in the early aughts had been worrying about all the wrong gases: “They were going all-in against [only] one of the pollutants that create smog, while downplaying the role of other emissions from the petrochemical plants,” reports Harris. “Barges carting chemicals up and down the [Ship Channel] were leaking. . . . And some types of storage tanks were leaking as well. . . . It turns out that routine day-to-day emissions were not the biggest problem.” Since then, regulations targeting those chemicals, like ethylene — as well as the use of infrared cameras that can spot them — appear to have made a difference: Port of Houston Authority employee Dana Blume tells Harris: “I can look out of my office window now and almost every single day see downtown.” [NPR; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Flickr user stmu_mike

Air Pollution, Air Quality, Chemical Plants, Houston Ship Channel, Smog

Crime

03/08/13 11:30am

Downtown’s New Drunk Tank

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Downtown, Institutional Buildings, Openings and Closings, Public Health, Public Safety, Renovations

11 Comments

The redo of this Chenevert St. warehouse is complete, Mayor Parker announced yesterday, and the Houston Center for Sobriety is ready to give drunk people a place to dry out. Next to the Eastex Fwy., the 84-bed center at 150 N. Chenevert will operate out of a 19,000-sq.-ft. building behind the Star of Hope homeless shelter, across from Irma’s Mexican restaurant on Ruiz and just a few blocks north of Minute Maid Park.

77002, Downtown, Institutional Buildings, Public Health, Renovations

Greenspoint

01/10/13 3:26pm

Largest Skate Park in U.S. Gets Rolling in Greenspoint

Land Development, New Construction, Parks, Proposed Developments, Public Health

29 Comments

Stoked by the success of the Lee and Joe Jamail Skate Park on Sabine St., the City of Houston earlier this week broke ground that’ll soon be smoothed over by 72,000 sq. ft. of concrete; the 10-acre Spring Recreational Area in Greenspoint willÂ feature what’s being billed as the largest skate park in the U.S.

Something like the rendering above is planned for the siteÂ on Kuykendahl, just west of I-45 and north of Beltway 8. It’s projected to cost $5.5 million. That cost includes the construction of “speed hips” and “flow bowls” and “a couple of backyard-style pools,” the Greenspoint District says — things any park worth its vert ramps needs to attract national competitions.

Skateboarders will share the acreage with Dylan’s Park, a “Park Without Limits” that will include equipment and implements designed for children with disabilities. Greenspoint District says the designs are done; the whole thing’s going to be ready in Spring 2014.

New Park Complex Coming to Greenspoint [Greenspoint District]
Previously on Swamplot: Headlines: 290 Redo Speeding Up; Greenspoint Lands Skate Park

Rendering: Greenspoint District

77014, Greenspoint, Land Development, Parks, Proposed Developments, Skate Parks

Downtown

10/06/11 4:17pm

The Plumbers Sure Work Fast at Lenny’s in the Tunnel

Public Health, Quicklink, Restaurants

4 Comments

THE PLUMBERS SURE WORK FAST AT LENNY’S IN THE TUNNEL According to the Houston Press‘s latest roundup of city Health Dept. inspection reports, the dowtown Lenny’s Sub Shop in the tunnel beneath 1001 Fannin St. was cited recently for not having the minimum number of handwashing sinks available for workers. Not to worry, though: The inspection report indicates the violation was “corrected on site.” [Eating Our Words]

77002, Downtown, Public Health, Restaurants

Critters

09/26/11 12:20pm

Houston Now Allowing Dogs on Some Restaurant Patios

Montrose, Public Health, Restaurants

37 Comments

The restaurant dog ban is over. Ziggy’s Bar + Grill at 302 Fairview in Montrose, one of the first establishments to get involved in the Paws on Patios campaign begun last year, was the recipient last week of the first-ever city of Houston dogs-on-patios permit. Establishments that want to follow suit will need to maintain a separate self-closing doggie entrance gate to the patio, labeled with a sign identifying it as a “dog friendly patio”; keep hand sanitizer and disposable water bowls available; keep the patio free of visible “dog hair, dog dander, and other dog-related waste or debris”; and make sure restaurant personnel don’t pet or serve any four-legged customers. Owners are supposed to keep their pets on leashes and away from the tableware.

Paws on Patios success: Ziggyâ€™s is first to get restaurant variance [A Pets Chronicle]
Montrose restaurant gets first dogs-on-patio city permit [Houston Chronicle]
Dogs to be allowed on restaurant patios [abc13]

Photo: Paws on Patios

77006, Critters, Development Regulations, Montrose, Patios, Public Health, Restaurants

Public Health

07/26/11 12:02pm

Spurring a Toilet Revolution

Quicklink, Utilities

2 Comments

SPURRING A TOILET REVOLUTION What the world needs now, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: better places to poop. This year, the foundation will spend $3 million to fund 8 university teams working to reinvent the toilet. New off-sewer-system toilets for the 21st century would save lives around the world and “turn crap into valuable resources.” And who knows? Backwards thinking like that might end up making it cheaper to build more of our beloved way-out burbs around here too. [Gates Foundation] Video: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Public Health, Sprawl, Utilities

Clear Lake

05/04/10 1:34pm

Comment of the Day: Clearing the Air Around Clear Lake City