- The Texas Drought, As Seen from Space (Things Don’t Look Good) [State Impact]
- State Warns of Blackouts this Winter [Fuel Fix]
- TIAA Looks to Sell Half its Stake in Four Oaks Place Complex [Real Estate Alert]
- The Myth of Zoning-Free Houston [Slate]
- Rice Student Owes University $15,000 After Naked Glass-Breaking Accident [CultureMap]
- MFAH Names New Director as Museum Prepares to Construct a Third Exhibition Building [29-95; previously on Swamplot]
- Two-thirds of Controversial Montrose Management District Board Have A Friend in a High Place [Texas Watchdog]
- For History Buffs, Houston Then (1891) and Now [The Atlantic Cities]
Photo of Texas City Dike by Joel Olives [license]
75% of owners signatures,seriously. With all the out-of-state owners and property blocs tied up with those supporting the management, is that number even physically possible to obtain?
Interesting but not really surprising story about the Montrose Management District to which those of us who are not really surprised can only say, altogether now, “Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for her.” We also didn’t vote for Ellen Cohen.
Joel: I know first hand how hard the “Stop the district” guys worked to gather the sigs.
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It wasn’t just a matter of mailing out a letter and asking it be signed / returned. Finding the owners was hard. But your right, it’s amazing they got almost 80% to agree to dissolve the district *and* sign. Of the 20% that didn’t sign, I’m told that only 1/2 of those actually supported the district (the others couldn’t be found).
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So it’s 80-90% that oppose.
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My own feelings about the district aside, It’s pretty amazing that it continues to function with such a large % of the effected owners against it (considering it was started on behalf of those very same owners via a very small group of people)
Hey, thanks for the happy headlines.
Re: Drought, I still say Houston’ll become a desert like Turkey. Soon, a green shrub or a flowering hibiscus will be the ultimate status symbol. And a freakin lawn: completely decadent! Only the rich will have green. Er . . .
Already Phoenix has an income/vegetation correlation. Money buys lower housing density, larger properties, set-backs and sidewalks (possibly HOA-enforced.)
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/environmental-gap/
[this may not indicate a trend, or lead to a rule, but is an ‘interesting intersection,’ as the urban ecologist put it.]