Heights2Bastrop

From CNN:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Police shut down 10 blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown Austin early Monday after dozens birds were found dead.

Experts were testing for any sort of environmental contaminant or gas or chlorine leaks that might have killed off the animals, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said.

There were no reports of any humans harmed, but a 10-block stretch of the main north-south route through downtown, several side streets and all buildings in the area were blocked off and expected to remain off-limits until about noon, Chovanetz said.

The bird carcasses were found overnight along Congress Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.

The street closure Monday morning stretched from the front of the state Capitol to a section of the Colorado River known as Town Lake. The Capitol opened on schedule Monday, the day before the legislative session was to begin.

Also from CNN:

Gas-like odor permeates Manhattan

NEW YORK (AP) -- Authorities were investigating the source of a mysterious gas-like odor Monday that stretched across a large part of Manhattan, including Rockefeller Center.

The Fire Department began getting calls about the odor around 9 a.m. Monday, said spokesman Tim Hinchey. No source had been identified.

Across the Hudson River, Jersey City, New Jersey, mayor's spokeswoman Maria Pignataro said officials there were told the odor was due to a gas leak in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, just north of Greenwich Village.

"When I left my apartment [in Jersey City]," Pignataro told CNN, "I walked out and immediately was hit with gas fumes. If you were in a gas station, it would be magnified 1,000 times."

Pignataro advised people in the area to close their windows and to turn off their heating and ventilation systems.

"The smell was very strong. It was very scary," said Yolanda Van Gemd, an administrator at ASA, a business school near the Empire State Building that was evacuated as a precaution.

Utility officials with Consolidated Edison had no immediate comment.

In August, seven people were treated at hospitals after a gaseous smell in the boroughs of Queens and Staten Island.

Maybe something's afoul - or afowl?

Congress Avenue has been shut down from 11th to Cesar Chavez, or, from the Capitol to the river. The reason is that about 14 dead birds were found lying dead along the street, and it was closed to determine the cause of death.

This would be akin to closing Main Street from Franklin to Jefferson in Downtown Houston.

In the mid 60s, many of the guys my age became very familiar with 61 Riesner Street. That

I use Intellicast

Anybody have a photo of this house?

They are building cinder block houses down the road from me off 304 south of 71 (Bastrop). I have been following the progress of the construction since I have never seen cinder block houses being built before.

As far as I can tell, these houses will look just like adobe houses when completed, and I see nothing wrong with that look. My only

My grandmother lived at 14th and Waverley and I spent many hours watching those trains roll by. My best friend near her lived on Herkimer, and his house backed up to Nicholson.

My guess is that the railroad ceased operations somewhere in the 60s, and possibly the later 60s. BTW, the street was called Railroad originally, but I don’t know when it was changed.

In areas like The Heights, wouldn't the actual property values most likely rise faster than the amount your appraised value can be increased, which is 10%, right?

Have you seen them? I only ask, becuase if you can hear them at night, it's RATS, not squirells.

My girlfriend has bats in the belfry, and I haven't a clue as to how to get rid of them.

Hey, TJones. Ya missed one!

You could refer to Saddam as being

There was a great segment on this airshow in

So, any guesses as to what 2200 Main was back then? Anyone know what is there now?

How much longer will Barbara tolerate this or will she just let Rosie finish out her contract and fail to renew ?

I think Barbara and Rosie deserve each other. Walters' credence disappeared, in my opinion, when she did that sob story on that murderer, Jayson Williams. You can't tell me her interview didn't affect the outcome of his trial.

For one thing, Harriman is the one who brought up his connection, otherwise I never would have known. Second, I think he was pretty young when it happened, maybe in his teens, so he may not have been exposed to all the gory details at the time.

Lastly, he seemed as though he enjoyed the notoriety of being connected with such a famous (infamous) case. And why not? It

Good job, Filio!

That had to have been one of the stranger things that I have experienced. Here I am talking about the Henley/Corll case, and the boat-shed owner was standing in front of me.

When the guy walked in, Charlie introduced him as something Harriman (can

Could it have been Mountain Belvieu off I-10?

My mom is moving from Houston to Austin. She closes on her house next Wednesday, and we will move the next day. We will get a U-Haul truck for the move, and will store her excess furniture and other belongings in a storage unit here in Bastrop.

I signed for the unit this morning. As with most business people in this town, the guy at the place was a talker. People just love to talk here. Charlie would enter something into the computer, then talk some more. As it turned out, he lived in The Heights for a good while in a rental on Dorothy near 11th. Small world.

One of the stories I told Charlie was about taking a date to DePaul

Kolter Elementary School was granted a 3-year, $500,000 grant to add Mandarin Chinese to kindergarden students who at that school already have French, Spanish, Japanese avainable to them.

You can clearly see some Mountains in the background of a longshot showing Bud driving into the trailer park, coming home from work.

According to IMDB, filming for Urban Cowboy was at Gilley

I agree wholeheartedly that the owners should remove graffiti or pay a fine. I think if it is your residence, you should have 10 days to remove it. If it is rental property, you should be allowed, say, a month from the time of notification.

I also feel junk in yards, especially inoperable autos, should be subject to fines regarding either removal, or at least being hidden from public view by a fence. Weeds on a property may already subject to legal action, and if not, should be.

Maybe you can

Dead at age 71 - that's way too young. Boyle was one of my favorite commedians. He will be greatly missed.

Mom is moving to Austin to be nearer her G-Grandson. My nephew lives just east of Hyde Park around Red River and 45th, so that is why she chose that area.

Actually, she found a great place east of I-35. and south of 290 near or on Cameron. It was a 4-story complex that was fairly new, and the people looked very respectable. Problem was, it was a subsidized facility, and Mom made too much money to qualify.

I appreciate the links, and I will give them both a look-see.

My mom will be moving this way from Houston at the first of the year. She is looking for a residence that caters to Seniors