bachanon

yes, it is.

very interesting. there is plenty food for thought there. it's nice to see that houston is "on the radar". as i was reading the article, i thought to myself.........."didn't johnny depp and madonna move to europe because it was more progressive than the US?". our founders were ahead of their time. europe still hasn't figured it out.

welcome to the forum rrrich7.

rumour has it that rao has been, or will be, in italy looking for a chef. i've heard mixed things about d'amico's. at least we have yet another opportunity to have some decent restaurants. i hope they are decent. as far as "upscale"? i can only hope. i'm a bit dismayed that ms. kuhles of the chronicle didn't find it necessary to name or identify the architect of the project. this is another example of houston media ignoring the slightest attention to the profession of architecture. it's no wonder our city continues to put out boring, banal, regurgitated buildings. bad beth kuhles.

whoop, there it is! May 16, 2006, 2:58PM Project seeks environmental designation Woodlands office complex planned using 'green' material By BETH KUHLES Chronicle Correspondent Another new development

that last stats i saw on the woodlands showed that children made up between 25% & 35% of the entire population. the current population, according to interfaith, is around 80,000. so figure, 24k kids and 30k local workers. that would leave 26k to commute or stay at home. however you look at it, the woodlands is not a typical bedroom community.

i'm loving the murray grigsby shots. i would love to have a slideshow screensaver or desktop photos with many of those shots. great links, thanks.

hey maxconcrete, isn't there superior road material available, rather than the concrete we use now. i read somewhere that there are roads in europe that are being built to last for 50 or 100 years. roads that will not suffer the kind of damage that our highways suffer. are you familiar with these materials or techniques?

i spoke with someone from theiss farms, a participant in the farmer's market, they said that even with the rain they sold out way before the market closed.

my bad.

The Woodlands Children

Hardy Toll Road getting upgrades Improvements include repaving, widening of route By LAURA ISENSEE Chronicle Correspondent A $22 million project to upgrade the Hardy Toll Road is scheduled for completion in June 2007. Ron Krafka, director of construction programs division with the Harris County Toll Road Authority, said the project, which began last November, has two major parts. full story

Northside commuters face more traffic headaches Infrastructure must be replaced, not repaired, experts say By HEATHER L. NICHOLSON Chronicle Correspondent Bad news for commuters: Drive time into Houston will not get better with time. In fact, the average commute time of 30-45 minutes is likely to increase in the next 30 years, according to a panel of transportation and development experts. full story

there is supposed to be a significant water feature from the creators of the bellagio water show/fountains in vegas, (i heard).

"seek and ye shall find." "taste and see that the lord is good." the bible is full of exhortations for christians to check things out. see if it's real or not. i'm always dismayed when "christians" get on a soap box and deride anything that questions the validity of their faith. if it's real, it will stand the test. there is also a story in the old testament about three hebrews who were tried by fire and came out whole, unsinged. for me, it's been a metaphor for getting your hands dirty and having faith that truth will prevail (through no effort on my part btw). questions reveal truth. these soap box christians should go see the movie, read the book and compare it to what they know/believe and research whatever questions arise. otherwise, leave it be. and again.......it is noted as fiction.

thanks for the punctuation lesson, dbigtex. i will forever see a dog licking its own nads when i use the word it's or its. ditto on the responsive city government statement. as an aside, development does not require an extra "e" (developement). for instance, the word management requires the "e". develop+ment. manage+ment. sorry, i couldn't help myself.

welcome to the forum tom, and thanks for the link. katiedidit, there is, or was, a sign facing kuykendahl, to the south of the HEB center advertising for a 10 acre tract for sale or development.

i felt that redscare was careful to point out the contrasting elements of the projects/nonprojects. it was not a simple comparison. he pointed out similarities and differences. he also noted that one was a single developer and the other a connect-the-dots maturity of a downtown area. 2112 points out an idea i wholeheartedly agree with. houston's free wheeling marketplace is creating vibrant areas without a masterplan (yes, i hear you all..........this coming from a woodlands' resident). critical mass is upon our downtown grid. the dots are connecting. the end result, barring a new depression or world war, will be a truly livable, walkable downtown/midtown houston. the urban village concept will occur with or without planning. we will, hopefully, connect these vibrant areas experiencing critical mass (med center, downtown, midtown, uptown, museum district, greenway plaza and so on) with consistent mass transportation (errr, rail).

redscare, the free market guy. i think that if a community (say, a few blocks of homes) wants to establish restrictions on lot sizes, set backs, square footage, architectural style, then more power to them. you don't have to buy in that community. however, unless the work is done to establish such restrictions, it's kinda silly to complain if you've bought into a community with no limitations on redevelopment. if you are a bungalow home owner inside the loop and you haven't figured out that gentrification has been occurring for the last 6 years or so, you need to get organized in your specific neighborhood, or buy somewhere with stricter restrictions. i do not think that city wide ordinances are necessary, nor do i think poo-pooing people who like and develop the big ugly townhomes is productive. neighborhood specific HOAs or historic districts with strict standards are the way to go. leave the rest to the free market.

somebody copied my signature.

welcome to the forum baywatch.

interesting contrast and comparison of dallas street developments to the victory project. dallas street may need a lighting/landscaping theme to set it apart, something modern. great post red.

it will be great to have you back. have a safe trip. thanks again for serving.

pineda, come on! rockfish is all about the "retro" feel. it reminds me of "twin peaks". the blackened shrimp caeser salad is amazing. i haven't had one thing on the menu that i didn't like. oh, and the ice cold schooner of shiner bock............best around. and grotto, yes it is owned by landry's now. however, i have had first rate service and food at this location. the manager visited our table more than once and it reminded me of the good ole days at a tony vallone establishment. tommy bahama's "sysco quality"? since when does sysco have goat cheese with sun dried tomatos or plantains w/black bean salsa? i've never had bland or boring food at tommy bahama's. i'll stop with chuy's. bland? no. fresh and healthier than your average tex-mex? yes. if you haven't tried them, try the chicken enchiladas in the blue corn tortillas. choose a savory sauce rather than the tomatillo. although the tomatillo is delicious, you may be more used to a gravy type topping. oh, and the chicken tortilla soup? uber delicious. lots of cilantro.........and fresh. do not order anything on the menu that is similar to another mexican or tex-mex restaurant. chuy's specialties are not your typical fajitas or combination platter. oh, and ace chinese? how is this place still in existence? horrible, horrible service and food. will not return under any circumstances. even the egg rolls were bad. talk about sysco quality? i'll take sysco over ace chinese any day. ok, so i wasn't through. ditto your take on tin star, jaspers and black walnut. black walnut is AMAZING. we are lucky to have them in our neck of the woods.