LOWERING EXPECTATIONS ON LAKE CONROE 
Once Houston starts drawing water from the Montgomery County reservoir to stabilize levels in Lake Houston — as it is expected to do, for the first time in 23 years, as early as this Tuesday — the water level on Lake Conroe will likely drop between 3 and 4 inches per week. That’s on top of the typical rate of evaporation from the lake during the hot summer months — also about 3 or 4 inches per week. On Friday, the San Jacinto River Authority reported Lake Conroe was already 4 ft. below its normal levels — only a foot above its lowest level ever, during the drought of 1988. [Click2Houston] Photo: San Jacinto River Authority
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Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
In this edition some Alabama shotguns meet the firing squad. Plus other demo details:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE LOST SCENT “It broke my heart when they closed down the location near my high school on Hilcroft many years ago. [It] was a great place for ‘off campus’ dining. Don’t even get me started about the closure of the original Taft location without warning. Don’t they know it takes decades to achieve that wonderful aroma from all those imported cheeses, olives, etc.? This is a smell my children (and I) will never experience again.” [jgbiggs, commenting on Po’ Boys Priced Out of the Village]
PO’ BOYS PRICED OUT OF THE VILLAGE 
The Antone’s Import Co. on the corner of Dunstan and Kelvin in the Rice Village shut down last week, says the Houston Press: “Sources indicate that rent in the space — next door to Kelvin Arms and benjy’s — had increased to the point where Antone’s finally had to close down and reconcentrate on its Stella Link location.” [Eating Our Words] Photo: West University Examiner
Cities throughout Texas are slowing down the process of knocking down dangerous structures because of fears that angry owners might come back to bite them — even after their buildings have been demolished. By a 5-4 vote, the Texas Supreme Court last month struck a blow for the property rights of rotting, undead buildings throughout the state, giving their owners the right to sue in court for compensation even if a hearing before a city administrative board has already declared a condemned structure a hazard to public safety. If it isn’t overturned in a rehearing, the decision will likely force Texas cities to pick their demolition battles more carefully, and possibly get courts involved in what has traditionally been something handled by city departments.
Did you realize that Ellington Field changed its name 2 or so years ago to Ellington Airport? Don’t worry if you haven’t kept up, because there’s already another name upgrade in the works, this time to Ellington International Airport. (“Intercontinental” was already taken). What’s next — Intergalactic? Maybe: Houston Airports aviation director Mario C. Diaz announced plans earlier this year to transform the commercial, military, and NASA facility into a “spaceport” where wealthy passengers could embark on leisure spaceflights — at about $50,000 a pop.
Development firm Read King is “gearing up to break ground on” a mixed-use project at the southwest corner of Shepherd and West Alabama, across the street from the shopping center that houses the vacant Alabama Theater. Real Estate Bisnow‘s Catie Brubaker says preleasing has already begun for 30,000 sq. ft. of “high-end” retail; the development would also include 250 luxury apartments. The targeted opening date is in the middle of 2013, so it shouldn’t much matter that the design “is still in flux,” right? The placeholder rendering appears to show 5 stories of apartments perched above 2 retail floors.
STILL NO WAY TO DECORATE WITH BACK ISSUES 
High Gloss, Houston’s entry in the online-only-but-still-magazine-style shelter mag craze, is folding after its third issue, published just last month. Founder, editor in chief, and former Houston high-school Spanish teacher Paloma Contreras calls shutting the publication “a difficult decision” in her announcement but notes only “a few lifestyle changes” within the magazine’s production team. [La Dolce Vita]
THAT THEATER SPACE IN THE NEW HOUSTON BALLET BUILDING REALLY CHAPS MY ASS 
“I have been going to the theater for nearly four decades, which means at the very least that I’ve encountered every possible sort of venue. I’ve sprawled on dirty gymnasium floors while watching modern dance, perched in rickety folding chairs during community Shakespeare productions, and squeezed into wooden fold-downs from the 19th century for long Mahler symphonies.
I’ve languished in some of the oldest opera houses of Europe, where the seats are notoriously awful. I am sorry to say that even paint-chipped baseball bleachers are more comfortable than the seven rows of upholstered benches in the Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Lab at Houston Ballet’s new Center for Dance.
. . . The seats are exactly one foot deep, with “backrests” only one foot high. Place two rulers in an “L†shape on your backside and you’ll get the idea: no support at all. You might be thinking that I should just lose some weight, and I won’t argue the point. However, a female friend told me recently that I have ‘no ass,’ so I don’t think it’s merely a matter of my size. I looked around and noticed everyone else shifting as well. There were several large people in the audience, and they looked positively miserable.” — Theodore Bale, reviewing a pair of Woody Allen plays put on by the Back Porch Players. [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Michael Coppens [license]
THERE GOES YOUR POPULAR LOW-COST AIRPORT SHUTTLE SERVICE, HOUSTON Saturday, August 20th will be the last day for Metro bus 500, the half-hourly Airport Direct route from Downtown to IAH. Metro’s board voted to end the service last month because of low ridership and continuing revenue losses. A reduction in fare from $15 to $4.50 and the addition of several hotels to the route this past January increased the number of riders but “did not reach a level where the service could be sustained,” according to a Metro statement. The service had been in operation for 3 years. Committed Metro airport passengers will still be able to ride the 102 bus, which costs just $1.25 — but it’s not an express route. [more info; previously on Swamplot]
And the thumbs up for the morning go to:
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Who said looking for a match online is easy? This remade 4,818-sq.-ft. home on a half-acre lot near Hilshire Village was on the market almost continuously from fall 2006 to fall 2008 . . . then again in the spring of 2010, and this year from April to the end of June. But you’ve gotta have hope: It’s back on the market again as of last week. How about: 61-year-old Bellewood belle has heart of gold, kitchen counter of granite, master bedroom floor of berber. Grew up in staid suburban Spring Branch Ranch; still inscrutable at first glance, very different on the inside. Dedicated to imagining romantic self, internal growth. Stuck on cul-de-sac, but willing to break down walls to get what I need. Given to recurring fantasies involving candles and wrought-iron balconies; ready to go for baroque if the right offer comes along.
ST. AGNES DROPS SUIT St. Agnes Academy has officially ended its lawsuit meant to prevent a nightclub called El Corral — planned for the former Finger Furniture store in PlazAmericas — from receiving a liquor license. The suit was filed last Friday against the nightclub’s owners, the city of Houston, and the TABC. A spokesperson for the all-girls private school, which is building an athletic facility across Bellaire Blvd. from the former Sharpstown Mall, tells Swamplot “any future plans regarding the suit are to be determined,” but offered no further comments. [Previously on Swamplot]
Seen at this morning’s Purple Line kickoff on McKinney St. near Ennis in East Downtown, a sight not seen around Houston since before 9/11: What it looks like when Metro contractors lay track for a new light-rail line . . . or pour the concrete pad for it, anyway.
- Metro puts down rail for first time in decade [Houston Chronicle]
- Previously on Swamplot: Metro Rail Gets Back on Track Tomorrow
Photo: Metro
