Still Displaced After the Storm; Auto Sales’ Harvey Surge; Aboard the Houston History Bus

Photo of mural by Helena Martin at HUE mural festival, 2123 Polk St: Ruben S. via Swamplot Flickr Pool

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  • It occurred to me that this might not be safe to help out at Buffalo Bayou and in some poorer neighborhoods demolishing drywall. For the Bayou, didn’t they have to have soil tested before they could move it off site? That could be a huge health risk. For some of these poorer communities where homes are 50+ years old, all I could think about was asbestos and other contamination from the areas flooding. The health impact from this storm wont be seen for another 10-20 years.

  • I don’t think that it is any different or more dangerous than changing a baby’s diaper.

  • I absolutely love the idea of the Houston History Bus. I hope it takes off and he is able to come up with some sort of model to move it from a hobby to a sustainable business. As a personal witness to only the past 20 years of Houston, I’ve seen it change at mind blowing rates right before my eyes. As the city and its residents learn to value what history we do have, perhaps there will be of interest to preserve landmarks for the future.

  • The NewQuest headline should refer to “Aliana” instead of “Alina”
    .
    http://www.newquest.com/pdfs/The_Grand_at_Aliana.pdf
    .

  • @Skeptic: We’ve fixed the headline. Thanks!

  • “More Than 22,000 Houston Students Still Considered Homeless Due to Harvey”
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    Can someone explain WHY this is? I know I’ve said it before but there are PLENTY of units available. I’d argue no more/less than before Harvey. So if these homeless students had a place BEFORE Harvey (and thus, I suspect, were paying rent) why can’t they find a place after Harvey? The units are out there. And the prices haven’t increased. And the requirements haven’t changed.
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    We stay pretty full but still have tons of empty units in the area (maybe a bit less empty units than normal, but the price is the same). We’re not talking about $$ class A apartments but eh $600/month type inner loop stuff that mostly goes to students.
    .
    Anyway, just trying to get the disconnect between these stories about ‘homeless people that can’t find housing’ and owners I know that have units available.

  • @Cody My coworker’s family was displaced by Harvey and their child’s school marked the child as homeless. They were in a hotel but then moved into a camper in their own driveway but the school will not change the child’s status until they return to their home (or they move to a new, permanent home). My guess is that the school benefits somehow from the designation? Maybe not?

  • They get a little extra money for homeless kids. It’s not much.

    It does allow them flexibility on their enrollment documentation.

    http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Publications/Issue_Briefs/3088_Homeless_Students.pdf

  • @CJ. Interesting point as to the homeless numbers. I would imagine this is how schools are working around displaced families not having to re-enroll in a different school if they couldn’t find a property in their school’s zoned neighborhood. Doesn’t mean they are on the street or even living in subsidized housing, but perhaps in a non-permanent rental.

  • @shrub, big difference between asbestos and benzene vs a poopy diaper.

  • @cody, @cj is giving an accurate description that they do not have to be living on the street. Two other examples are that they could be living in a house that is not their normal house ( such as with grandparents or cousins) or they could be living in an unrepaired house (living upstairs and cooking in a microwave because the downstairs was damaged).
    @teacher, the homeless students qualify for free lunch and that drives a lot of qualifications for federal Title Funds. That is one of the ways that the DOE determines the population of the schools which need assistance/dollars.