Tag: Hazards

Hazards
06/29/09 9:53am

Ditched off Washington Ave.: Nighttime Off-Roading Adventures

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Parking, Rice Military, Streetscapes, Washington Corridor
24 Comments

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.

Still there in the morning…

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Foreclosures
06/16/09 6:36pm

Now Haunting Theaters: Late-Payment Horror

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Hazards, Movies
2 Comments

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.

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Flooding
06/12/09 10:35am

A Stretch of the Tollway That Sucks, Quietly

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Freeways and Toll Roads, Hazards, Quicklink
No Comments

A STRETCH OF THE TOLLWAY THAT SUCKS, QUIETLY 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]

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Condos for Sale
06/11/09 10:32am

Pine Village North Open House Welcome

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Crime, Foreclosures, Pine Village North, Public Health
37 Comments

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 east 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.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Downtown
06/10/09 4:28pm

Why Houston Needs a Dome

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Hazards, Proposed Developments
7 Comments

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.

Diagram of Houston Dome: Engineering, Discovery Channel

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Critters
06/01/09 3:14pm

Rough Weather and Marauding Visitors: Tough Times in the Forbidden Gardens of Katy

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Flooding, Hazards, Katy, Williamsburg Parish
8 Comments

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.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Comments
05/22/09 3:13pm

Comment of the Day: Flood Math

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Flooding, Hazards, Quicklink
3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: FLOOD MATH “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]

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Apartments
05/22/09 2:54pm

No, the Wilshire Village Apartments Didn’t Catch on Fire Today

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Hazards, Lancaster Place, Quicklink
2 Comments

NO, THE WILSHIRE VILLAGE APARTMENTS DIDN’T CATCH ON FIRE TODAY But the much smaller West Alabama Place apartments catty-corner to them, at 1648 W. Alabama, did: “Officials said eight upstairs units were damaged either by fire, smoke or water. The fire appeared to be in the attic above the units.” No injuries have been reported. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

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Bankruptcies
05/21/09 10:40am

No-Charity Case: Royce Builders Education in Bankruptcy

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Hazards, Homebuilders
20 Comments

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:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Hazards
05/18/09 1:20pm

What Lurked Under That Meyerland Ranchburger

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Landscape, Meyerland
4 Comments

Spotting the first bloom of the season on the crape myrtle she and her husband planted way back when at their Meyerland home brings up fond memories for homeowner Annie Sitton:

When we planted this tree, it was about ten feet tall with a large root ball. We’ve all seen bad guys in movies digging graves. They make it look so easy. Well, let me tell you…digging even a small hole in the earth is difficult work. When it was my turn at the shovel, I couldn’t believe the energy it took. After about ten minutes into my digging career, my shovel hit something hard…clunk. I screamed, “Buried treasure!” I had always said there was something special about this piece of land.

Oh . . . there was!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Flooding
05/14/09 9:47am

Official Flood Tally

by
Hazards, Quicklink
No Comments

OFFICIAL FLOOD TALLY Storms in late April resulted in the flooding of 2,300 homes — the second-highest area total since Tropical Storm Allison hit in 2001. “The figure includes about 1,350 residences in Houston, 800 in unincorporated Harris County and the rest in other towns and cities within the county, said Heather Saucier, a spokeswoman for the county flood control district. More than half of the flooded houses were not in a mapped flood plain, a reminder that every property owner in Houston and Harris County is at risk for flooding and should purchase flood insurance, Saucier said.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

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Fort Bend County
05/12/09 10:20am

Garbage Playground: Developing Houston’s Blue Ridge Mountain

by
Fresno, Hazards, Pearland, Proposed Developments, Shadow Creek Ranch, Toxic Sites
13 Comments

That gonna-be-170-ft.-high pile of trash going up across the street from Shadow Creek Ranch? Nothing a little smart landscaping can’t handle. Rice architecture grad student Lysle Oliveros’s proposal for the Blue Ridge Landfill makes for a rockin’ video. And Houston needs a mountain, anyway.

Video: Richie Gelles

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Apartments
04/24/09 4:27pm

Comment of the Day: Apartment Mess Skeptic

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Comments, Hazards, Home Decor, Quicklink, Renting
3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: APARTMENT MESS SKEPTIC “. . . There should be grime around the light switch – there is not. There should be a big layer of filth on the blinds – there is not. The blind cord would be filthy – it is not. The walls are very very clean & white. They should be smudgy. In another set of these pictures, the kitchen cabinets are completely clean, no grime at the door knobs, no grime at the drawer pulls. Trust me – in this much filth, you would see that grime. ALSO – the big piles of cigarette butts were obviously dumped there. When you put out a cigarette, there is a smashing action. You don’t just throw a still burning cigarette on top of a giant pile of other cigarettes. MAYBE this person worked in a bar & collected a weeks worth of cigarettes & dumped them throughout the house……maybe….. But the whole thing looks staged to me – big time.” [KW, commenting on Inside the Messiest Apartment in Houston. Ever.]

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Construction Problems
04/14/09 10:15pm

A “Deep Renovation” Gone Wrong

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Hazards, Idylwood, Quicklink, Renovations
4 Comments

A “DEEP RENOVATION” GONE WRONG A building collapse this afternoon killed at least one worker and seriously injured 2 others at Brays Crossing, a 6-building, low-cost apartment project being fashioned from the former HouTex Inn on I-45 just north of Griggs Road, near Forest Park Cemetery. “The two-story building collapsed as construction workers were replacing joists and the structure began to shift, said Richard Cole, chief of the fire department’s rescue team. The original building was a wooden frame building and had no steel beams for the support needed, he said. . . . New Hope Housing, the city’s partner on the 149-room apartment complex, bought the inn and hired Camden Builders to rehab it beginning in January. When it’s finished, small, single room occupancy apartments will be rented to the newly homeless, said Richard Celli, the city’s director of housing and community development.” [Houston Chronicle; schematic diagram (PDF)]

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Construction Materials
04/07/09 2:21pm

Not Preston Hard Enough: A Shade Loose Downtown

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Downtown, Hazards, Public Buildings
6 Comments

The brise-soleil modern Harris County Administration Building at 1001 Preston Downtown — across from a Metro Rail stop on Main St. — has been having a little problem holding it all together, reports the Chronicle‘s Liz Peterson. And it’ll take a little fixing:

Employees noticed the first bits of fallen concrete in February 2008, prompting the county to hire Walter P. Moore and Associates to evaluate the extent of the problem, said Mike Swain, the county’s deputy director of architecture.

The firm’s workers spent the next several months removing the most dangerous loose concrete and studying the rest of the 31-year-old building’s façade, he said.

Their report urges the county to install protective scaffolding around the building’s perimeter as soon as possible. Doing that and removing the rest of the loose concrete is expected to cost about $175,000.

Repairing the concrete façade is expected to cost at least $4.5 million, while waterproofing all the windows will eat up another $460,000.

Photo: Harris County Purchasing Agent

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