COMMENT OF THE DAY: UP OR DOWN “On the agent side of HAR, you can see the different listing amounts. So while you might avoid the big red arrow showing a decrease, any agent can still see the pricing history. What a lot of agents do is lower their places by a few bucks a day, that way people with searches setup for a given location will keep being notified of their listing (since a price change will kick in a notice to be sent out). I know it works as I just RAISED the price of a rental on HAR and got a ton of calls. Likely because anyone that has an alert setup for my rental type just got ‘re-alerted’ about the apartment.” [Cody, commenting on Back, Slashed: Ken and Linda Lay’s Huntingdon Penthouse]
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MAYOR PARKER NOT BACKING BEYONCé MONUMENT IDEA, BUT SHE’S COOL WITH THE TUNES 
In announcing plans for a fundraising venture that would include construction of some sort of monument to Houston native Beyoncé Knowles, Armdeonce Ventures’ Marcus Mitchell indicated last night that there was official civic support behind the project. “We’ve gotten support from the city of Houston, from the mayor,” Mitchell told Fox 26 reporter Kristin Kane. “We’re waiting for a very nice letter from the mayor right now.†But if Mayor Parker sends him one, the letter may not include what Mitchell is after. Just out from the Twitter feed of Janice Evans, a spokesperson for the mayor: “Fox is wrong. The City of Houston is not behind, working with or having anything to do with an effort to build a monument honoring Beyonce.” To soften the blow, she adds, later: “But we do heart Beyonce and her music.” [MyFox Houston; Twitter] Photo from Run the World video: Beyonce Online
A SECOND RUN AT GROCERIES FOR DOWNTOWN 
Today is opening day for Georgia’s Market Downtown at 420 Main St., the same space where Byrd’s Market shut down last summer. The opening of Phoenicia Specialty Foods at One Park Place across from Discovery Green in the meantime means Georgia’s won’t be Downtown’s only grocery store. Like Phoenicia, Georgia’s is a second location of a more suburban operation (Georgia’s Farm to Market, in the former Kmart on the I-10 feeder just east of Dairy Ashford), and includes a cafe and bar (The Cellar, underground). [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Eater Houston
Note: Two updates below.
A North Montrose family found itself enriched Wednesday by a treasure trove of photos showing the burglar who had been stalking their back porch — and impoverished by the iPad, camera, and jewelry the man nabbed from his home, stuffed into a pillowcase. The surveillance pics gathered from the incident near West Gray and Montrose Blvd. are now on display in this Flickr account. They show remarkably clear images of the neighborhood’s new doggie-door burglar — nicknamed “the Ghost” because no one had caught a glimpse of him during similar incident last week — pacing back and forth in the back yard, talking on a mobile phone to an accomplice who was apparently acting as a lookout. The culprit “spent 10 minutes casing the back yard and 4 minutes inside the house,” the victim tells Swamplot.
- GRB Master Plan Calls for More Downtown Hotel Rooms, Parking Space [Houston Business Journal]
- Hunters Creek Village and Piney Point Village at War Over $11M Storm Sewer System, Kemwood Dr. Flooding [Houston Chronicle]
- Tornado Tally for Wednesday Storms Now at 6 [Click2Houston]
- Baybrook Mall Disappears from H&M’s List of New Locations [Culturemap]
- Houston Joins Nationwide Effort To Improve Building Energy Efficiency 20 Percent by 2020 [Houston Business Journal]
- 1 Houston Center Renamed LyondellBasell Tower [Prime Property]
- State Sues To Close Tiger Mart on Fannin at Gray for Being a ‘Public Nuisance’ [Hair Balls]
- Metro Keeps 3 Bus Routes, Eliminates 6 [Click2Houston]
- Company Campaigning for Monument to Beyoncé in Bayou City [MyFox Houston]
Photo of Tiger Mart, 2111 Fannin St.: Candace Garcia
COMMENT OF THE DAY: TOO EASY “I was really interested in buying . . . when it wasn’t for sale.” [northside girl, commenting on On Second Thought: Yeah, It’s Available]
SAN ANTONIO AND DALLAS MOVING CLOSER 
For those of you who obey speed limits on interstate highways — or even just adjust your cruising speed accordingly — the drives to San Antonio and Dallas just got a little shorter. The Texas Transportation Commission today approved a 5mph bump-up in the speed limit along stretches of I-10 and I-45 North well outside city limits. The new 75mph speed limit will also go into effect on more than 1,500 miles of highway throughout the state — but only after the signs are changed. [Texas Politics] Photo: TxDOT
Is some sort of paint job underway on the WEDGE International Tower at Louisiana and Bell St. downtown? Or is some new material being installed on the building exterior? A reader who wants to know sends in these spandrel surveillance pics from a perch at the new Tellepsen YMCA.
Good news for those of you saddened by the disappearance of Ken and Linda Lay’s gargantuan 33rd-floor Upper Kirby condo from the MLS rolls at the end of last month: Your opportunity to watch the asking price on the castle-in-the-sky penthouse float down to earth is back! Where had it gone? “It appears the Huntingdon high-rise condo at 2121 Kirby was removed from the multiple listing service for a few days so it could be relisted without showing that the price was reduced . . . again,” reports the HBJ‘s Jennifer Dawson. “That seems to be a common trick of the trade with Realtors.”
A few amendments appear to have been made to that giant “Property Not for Sale” sign on JFK Blvd. near Greens Rd. just south of IAH featured on Swamplot last month, notes reader Brett Jensen. Plastered over that simpler earlier sign (shown at right) are now indications of the property’s size, a revised phone number, a real-estate company name and contact, and what appears to be a complete reversal of the previous marketing strategy. An indication that that “don’t even ask” strategy was a flop? Or that it worked too well, and now a new owner of sign and land is simply trying a more practiced strategy to flip it?
- Previously on Swamplot: Not Even Trying
Photos: Brett Jensen (for sale) and Katie Pearson (not for sale)
Okay, all you dead-soon houses. Line up and say “cheese!”
- Severe Weather Brings Winds, Rain, and at Least One Tornado to Houston [Houston Chronicle; slideshows here and here]
- Cleanup Begins in Areas Struck By Tornadoes [abc13]
- Rain Causes Storm Sewer Backup Near UH Downtown [Click2Houston]
- Yesterday’s Rain Expected To Have Little Effect on State-Wide Drought, Lake Levels [Austin-American Statesman]
- City Council Delays $4.8M Red Light Camera Settlement So Kubosh Brothers Can Join Lawsuit [Houston Chronicle]
- Ship Channel Area Redevelopment Plan Approved, Obsolete Properties To be Demolished [Houston Business Journal]
- State Turns Away River Authority’s ‘Unspecific’ Bid Over Brazos Water Supply [Houston Chronicle]
- 5444 Westheimer Office Building Near Galleria To Get $15M Renovation [Houston Business Journal]
- Sneak Peek Photos of Georgia’s Market Downtown [24-95.com; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of Brenham storm damage: Samica Knight/abc13
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MACHINE THAT REPLACED THE GANDY DANCERS “It did put 25 men out of work . . . not to mention the loss of a musical tradition.” [michael, commenting on So That’s Where Railroad Ties Come From]
CRAPE MYRTLE MAIMING SEASON HAS BEGUN 
“I ventured out into the burbs this past weekend (Katy) and witnessed the unthinkable — crape murder!” reports a reader. And here’s a photo, sent in from the scene of the triple-massacre aftermath, near the intersection of Pintail and Spoonbill streets in Hunters Terrace. Just a little off the top, please. [Swamplot inbox] Photo: Swamplot inbox
