bachanon

Kuwait is giving 500 million. Canada has sent or is sending ships full of supplies.

oprah's "minions" will inject millions of dollars and other types of aid to the relief. what cracks me up is the bullet proof vest i heard she was wearing. scaredy cat.

i must admit that the thought in the original statement crossed my mind more than once in the last 24 hours; however, it is incumbent on people of good will to take care of others in need. it is not for us to determine whether or not the people in need are people of good will. it is a difficult but necessary thing.

i remember finding the doc martin's i wanted at dream merchant. also, my first cabaret voltaire cd was also purchased at sound exchange, as well as meat beat manifesto and vicious pink. i still have a bowling shirt from the 50's a friend bought for me from step back or timeless taffeta, i can't remember which. good times.

great idea. being new to parenting, i hadn't thought much about four years down the road. a trip after high school graduation could be an incentive as well as the benefits you mention. ayusa allows students as young as 14 for semesters abroad (as well as 2-4 week trips). i'm not completely comfortable with overseas travel at this age, alone. thanks for the tip on lonely planet.

Last year, I became guardian to my nephew who will be 15 next month. There are some programs that take kids to other countries for several weeks to an entire semester. I think he should travel while he is young and that it benefits education and a greater world view. I'm not sure how safe these programs are. Does anyone have experience with these type of programs?

is it really possible in a free market to concentrate on these "sparks"? the various accomplishments that have occurred within the downtown area will eventually produce the critical mass we all long for. it simply takes time. it does seem like a lifetime when you watch it as closely as we do. the new park is a perfect fit IMO. if and when the pavilions project gets off the ground we will see more pieces of the puzzle come together. it is truly exciting the changes that are taking place for houston. not just with new development but the mindset of houstonians. unfortunately for us fans of urban renewal, long term change takes, well, a long time.

welcome to the forum jee.

thank you

i'm thinking about subscribing to atomic ranch. i realize that i can subscribe online; however, i'm wondering......would barnes & noble or borders carry atomic ranch? i'd like to peruse it's pages.

welcome to the forum constructionmanagermas. 'tis true that appearing rich is not necessarily rich, in fact, it is usually the opposite. the wealthiest people i've known would prefer that no one knew about it. i love that.

after reading "the millionaire next door", i believe that many truly wealthy people shop for discounts and most likely shop at walmart. (IMO) it tends to be the newly rich/ nouveau riche and credit card rich people who eschew walmart. and, as i've mentioned in another thread, "W" magazine had an article awhile back discussing that spending patterns were changing to reflect this fact. the same person who shops at macy's for perfume will hit walmart on the way home for a prescription.

six flags astroworld needs to be connected by monorail to the reliant center/astrodome/astrohall/reliant park/parking facilities/light rail line.

i received a reply today from a mr. ted washington. his title was not posted. the email is as follows: Before a Municipal Utility District can be formed, all of the land must be under the same jurisdiction. This was simply a housekeeping matter to transfer extraterritorial jurisdiction of some Montgomery County land to the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston so that a MUD district could be formed. With the exception of a small tract off of SH242, all of the land in The Woodlands is under the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston and has been since The Woodlands opened in 1974. i'm jazzed i rec'd a response so quickly. plus, i learned something. thanks for the suggestion to do so redscare.

yes. in fact, the swimming coach implied at a parent/student meeting that the natatorium (to be built at/near the new stadium site) was already in the works. i don't remember hearing the word "proposed". he did encourage everyone to support these upcoming issues. it seems that the school districts are so confident of funding that it's all just "red tape" (my words). i'm all for these facilities, but i don't like feeling that i'm being fleeced. the football team booster club has had two fundraisers since may (i have a football player in the house). my school taxes have skyrocketed for a rental property i have in spring isd. don't get me wrong, i love this stuff (not the tax increases, the activities surrounding and including education). i went to a private school in a metal building for 10 years and was better off (imho) than the majority of kids being educating with 250 million dollar plus bond issues every few years. i digress. with all that said, i'm excited about the new stadium and natatorium. i wish i could be confident that the school districts were being frugal.

the article identifies The Woodlands HS on Research Forest as overcrowded (despite the opening of The Woodlands College Park HS), not The Woodlands College Park HS on 242. College Park's capacity is around 2,400 and current enrollment is closer to 1,800 (according to principal Mark Murrell).

thanks for the interesting read pineda. some days i simply wish for some acreage in the country.

I've emailed The Woodlands' Development Co. and the president of the Grogan's Mill Village Association (my homeowner's assoc.). I will email more contacts after I get home this evening. Maybe someone can explain what this is intended to accomplish. I think I hear KatyDidIt groaning all the way from Sterling Ridge. I do hope her water pressure issue is working out

thanks, kjb434. just call me an alarmist. i knew about the annexation moratorium until 2011; however, the wording sounded, well, alarming.

i thought that this information needed it's own thread. pineda posted redscare posted anyone have more information on this?

did anyone just see the story about the pavilions development on channel 13, six o'clock news? maybe they will rerun the story at 10PM. it sounded like the journalist followed our forum for her story. with the exception of it being presented to city council by the developer and his partner, there was no new news for us.

i went by the new walmart site this weekend and found the 60 foot buffer intact along woodlands parkway and the 50 foot buffer along 2978. i'm not sure where the "buffer" has been clear cut. yes, they cleared the entire pad.....with the exception of the forested buffer.

welcome to the forum stevetxmd.

many improvements in uptown (buildings not included) are a product of the uptown TIRZ (tax increment reinvestment zone). a TIRZ is a self imposed tax on businesses in the area that goes directly to beautification and improvements (chrome arches, landscaping, lighting, etc). there are several people on the HAIF forum who are more familiar with a TIRZ if you have questions. .....and, welcome to the forum!