The old Bruce Elementary School on Bringhurst St. in the Fifth Ward — featured on Swamplot just last week and apparently just about ready to go up for sale — went up in flames last Friday night, reports our neighborhood correspondent. A story featured on Abc13 news says the building did suffer major damage from the flames, and makes it sound as if arson is suspected. Did any of the asbestos do its job?
Swamplot’s new “Bottom” of the Fifth Ward correspondent Vaughn Mueller reports from the site of the old Bruce Elementary School, where a sign indicates the property is for sale. A source tells Swamplot that a few details need to be worked out before it’s “officially” on the market, but an HISD web page provides some information about the property.
The school, which was closed at the end of the spring 2007 semester, sits along Cage and Bringhurst on the I-10 feeder road, and comprises a little more than 2 blocks. Mueller reports that the new Bruce Elementary (built by a 2002 HISD bond) less than a mile away on Jensen opened its doors in the fall of 2007.
It’s tagger war! Always on the lookout for dramatic artistic expression, blogger Sean Carroll snaps photos of the custom balcony paint jobs on this set of unfinished townhomes not far from his home. The site: Eichwurzel Ln., just west of Lindale Park and steps from the I-45 feeder. Reports Carroll:
they’ve been tagged for about two or three months, the parking lot in front of the townhomes is a messy half-finished lot, and it looks like they never finished the buildings. no occupants. kids are sneaking in and tagging the hell out of the inside probably too…
“I mean, this was metal that could have decapitated people,” [Grace Ln. resident and salon owner Kimberly Sadberry] said. “It was sharp. We had to put it on a dolly to take it back, it was that heavy.”
CES assured residents nothing like that would ever happen again, but less than two weeks later, another explosion occurred, she said.
Why the grace period now? Responding to complaints about intermittent explosions and noxious smells emanating from the plant — as well as the fiery death last month of a CES employee as he attempted to clean a tanker truck — police officers and federal agents raided the facility yesterday morning. And figuring out what’s really going on there might take a while:
“I really like the memorials constructed at ‘death-sites’ along roadways: They honor the deceased and alert us to risks, causing us to reflect on how easy it is to die in traffic accidents. I first saw this memorial custom on Grand Cayman Island where signs were erected at the sites of traffic fatalities. Years ago there were only a few, and, the twisted, rusty car wreckages were left in-situ as well. It was vivid and effective: Like performance-art really; Printed in white on the circular, black signs: ‘Accident Black Spot.’” [movocelot, commenting on Comment of the Day: What To Expect on That First Night in Your New Funeral Home]
Katy residents living near a pool supply company got breathtaking views of the spectacular black plumes emanating from the RAM Chemical and Supply warehouse at 4949 Greenhouse Rd. during last weekend’s fire.
But the fun wasn’t entirely over: A separate episode yesterday resulted in a shelter-in-place order for a few hours last night — for downwind neighborhoods east of the Windstone Colony subdivision, stretching from Greenhouse Rd. to Barker Cypress. Fire officials warned of toxic clouds billowing out from a supply of hazardous chemicals still housed in the singed remains of the warehouse.
HAIF poster Htowngirl, who lives near the new Ei8ht nightclub at the corner of Roy St., complains about . . . uh, parking difficulties in her neighborhood. And posts a few photos of an early Sunday morning scene from a few weeks ago:
The parking for Ei8ht in the neighborhood is already horrendous, I can’t even imagine what it will be like when Taps, Busty LaRoue’s, and this new “country” bar open…
Sample of the parking issues… I live a few blocks off Washington, near Ei8ht…the scene outside my house at 3 AM Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. Drunk suburbanite 21-year-old drove into our ditch.
On second thought, foreclosure is hell. That freaky-eyed lady asking for another extension on her mortgage payment? C’mon, go ahead and give it to her. You won’t feel bad about it. Plus those little in-house exorcisms have a weird way of chewing through the value of the underlying collateral.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority is hoping its first expanse of Permeable Friction Course asphalt will reduce accidents caused by hydroplaning: “Taking a pitcher, [HCTRA engineer Quinton] Alberto poured water on a one-foot square block of PFC asphalt sitting in a plastic tray. Instead of running off as it would on concrete or regular asphalt, the water was absorbed – almost instantly. The water then trickled to the bottom and out the sides. It works because the PFC asphalt is full of tiny holes and air pockets that allow rainwater to drain through it. On RM 1431 in Austin, TxDOT says the PFC asphalt is a big reason why there has been a dramatic decrease in wet-weather accidents. Before laying down the new pavement, wet weather accidents accounted for nearly 60 percent of all crashes. After the PFC, they accounted for less than 10 percent. In Harris County, the Toll Road Authority is using PFC for the first time, spending $4 million to pave a five-mile section of Beltway 8 between US 290 and SH 249. The authority picked the section because it said in just the last two years, there have been over a hundred injury accidents there, many in wet weather.” [11 News]
What happens when an investor who owns 200 out of 500 units in a north Houston condo complex defaults on his loan, leaving many of his properties vacant? Reporter Allison Triarsi visits Pine Village North, just south of Hamill Rd., west of the Eastex Fwy.:
“It’s just an open house for gang members to come. Anybody can come,” said homeowner Ann Loyd.
Walk inside any one of the open units and you could find anything from gang graffiti and dead roaches, to the bones of animals.
“I don’t know if what I’m standing in [is] some kind of mice droppings or rat droppings,” said Loyd, while escorting 11 News through a vacant unit.
In addition to debris, there were pink pills on a counter, and clothing and blankets on the floor where people have either left them behind or kept them there in case they needed a free place to sleep.
Too bad we can’t embed the video here. So here’s a transcript of the rationale — presented by the writers of the Discovery Channel’s Mega Engineering series — for building that massive, mile-diameter geodesic dome over Houston (or at least the Downtown part):
Houston, Texas — the country’s fourth most populous city — is in peril.
Houston has always been vulnerable to killer hurricanes: From the great storm of 1900, the deadliest in U.S. history, which killed 8,000 people, to Hurricane Ike in 2008, which caused more than $10 billion in damage, and forced the city center to shut down for nearly a week.
And it’s not only hurricanes. Searing heat and humidity also oppress this great city. On nearly 100 days each year, the temperature climbs above 90 degrees, which in muggy Houston feels even hotter.
Air conditioning provides relief, but at a cost. Houstonians’ soaring electricity use has nudged the city ahead of Los Angeles in the race to become the country’s number-one producer of greenhouse gases — a dubious distinction. And the problem is only getting worse.
Forced to spend a fortune in a losing battle against nature, and with energy costs spiking unpredictably, Houston finds itself square in the path of an environmental juggernaut, which threatens to make the city unlivable.
That’s why some think that the only way to save Houston is to move it indoors.
The ravages of the Katy Prairie have taken their toll on the models and unburied treasure at Forbidden Gardens, reports Brittanie Shey:
In 1996, when the museum first opened, it must have been an amazingly detailed sight. But [Forbidden Gardens founder Ira] Poon and his builders didn’t account for the Houston heat and humidity, which ruined a lot of the hand-painted details. Each terra cotta soldier used to hold a wooden weapon in his hand, but reckless children would climb into the display and take the swords to play with. When the soldiers started to break or peel, it was impossible to order more because the molds had been destroyed. [Weekend manager Alicia] Mendez said she and coworkers spend a few hours each summer having at the displays with Gorilla Glue to fix what they can.
“Or, to put it another way, if there’s a 1% chance that a storm of that magnitude will occur in a given year, there’s a 99% chance that it will not occur. Also a 99% chance that it will not occur next year, etc. Which means there’s a better than 50% chance that a “100 year flood event” will occur sometime in the next 69 years. (log .5 / log .99 is approx. 69; 0.99 raised to the 69th power is just under 0.5) 500-Year = 0.2% Chance Storm Event = 50% probability within 346 years. 100-Year = 1% Chance Storm Event = 50% probability within 69 years. 50-year = 2% Chance Storm Event = 50% probability within 34 years. 10-Year = 10% Chance Storm Event = 50% probability within 7 years.” [GoogleMaster, commenting on Comment of the Day: I-10 and Bunker Hill Paving Report]
Regular Swamplot readers will remember all the fun surrounding the collapse and shutdown of Royce Builders last year. What’s happened since? Chapter 7 bankruptcy! Plus now, says the Chronicle’s Nancy Sarnoff:
Wisenbaker Builder Services, Suncoast Post Tension, Builders Mechanical and Luxury Baths by Arrow are collectively seeking to recover more than $1.1 million from the builder, according to the petition filed last month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Thousands of home- owners could also have claims against the company.
Attorney David Jones, who is representing Royce in the bankruptcy, is compiling names of potential creditors that lists more than 12,000 people.
“Homeowners are the biggest portion,” said Jones, a partner with Porter & Hedges.
Oh, but there’s more! In a separate legal action, an educational charity that Royce owner John Speer used to promote his businesses and solicit contributions from customers is claiming that Royce failed to deliver funds raised on its behalf. A struggling charity that renamed itself the Royce Homes Foundation for Youth in 2003 — after Speer apparently promised to deliver several hundred thousand dollars a year in support — says Royce still owes it about $400K:
Swamplot covers real estate, home design and renovation, architecture, and the landscape of Houston, Texas. Swamplot did not flood during Allison — or Ike! Honest! Read more
Comment of the Day: Memorial Highway
“I really like the memorials constructed at ‘death-sites’ along roadways: They honor the deceased and alert us to risks, causing us to reflect on how easy it is to die in traffic accidents. I first saw this memorial custom on Grand Cayman Island where signs were erected at the sites of traffic fatalities. Years ago there were only a few, and, the twisted, rusty car wreckages were left in-situ as well. It was vivid and effective: Like performance-art really; Printed in white on the circular, black signs: ‘Accident Black Spot.’” [movocelot, commenting on Comment of the Day: What To Expect on That First Night in Your New Funeral Home]