brian0123

Italy is a joke when it comes to security and it left me wanting more. I was there last year... and anyone can get onto any train without having your bag searched or screened beforehand.

As an update to the original article, HPD recently spoke at Midtown's public safety meeting about this news segment and said the reporters were dead wrong (and they were upset by the reporting). The officer even called out an ABC reporter (and cameraman that did the original story) at another public meeting on their incorrect reporting. Apparently the reporter took crime stats from areas outside of Midtown and lumped them in as part of Midtown... hence that's why you see the neartown guy speak and not a Midtown rep. The officer had the stats with him at the meeting. If you look at HPD crime stats within the boundaries of Midtown itself... crime is down by a good chunk.

That Letterman clip of him trimming the hedges in front of KHOU is awesome.

I don't understand the excitement surrounding a grocery store. The idea of hanging out and having beer/wine at a grocery store just sounds completely lame to me.

Wow, that's insane. Where at and what time of day/night? Did they catch the suspects? I'm not saying they are limited to bum fights and drunk patrons... just that a good chunk is.

I know they bust a lot of club goers for drugs... but they bust a ton of homeless and random foot/car traffic. Anywhere there are a lot of people with disposable income looking for a good time, you will find dealers. The news report was more about an increase in aggravated assaults. From what I see on the maps (and what I've seen personally), most of the assaults are homeless on homeless type of crime or fights at a bar. The locations on the map for agg. assaults all tend to be spots I know where homeless sleep or hang out. If ABC wants to complain about crime at popular hotspots... they should also look along Washington Avenue http://houstoncrimemaps.com/neighborhood/memorial-park-washington-avenue/ 11,600 Total Crimes mainly burglary and theft

While I do hope this makes HPD pay attention (I can't tell how many times I've seen them drive right past a prostitute or crack dealer)... we still need to keep things in perspective. Midtown is the most pedestrian friendly neighborhood in the middle of the 4th largest city in the US. There will always be foot traffic and people walking around. We have rail lines, bus lines, are near tourist attractions, etc. Businesses just need to do a better job of providing security to their patrons (just like Target, Walmart, malls, etc. have private security). HPD needs to patrol more and actually talk to people walking around on the street instead of just driving by them. Once HPD makes their presence known, people will take notice and behave.

My biggest complaint about it is how they calculate the fee for your property. I live in a townhouse that shares a wall with a neighbor. Their "impervious surface" sq footage for my lot was enormous... so I looked online to see that the parcel boundaries in their GIS tool plotted half of my neighbor's house and lot as part of mine. I protested online, sent them my building/property diagrams from my appraisal company when I bought the house, told them to just look at the map and they can see they lumped in my neighbors house with mine... but they DENIED my protest saying their initial charge is correct and will be unchanged. I'm now going to have to appeal, but when I tried to online the site kept giving me errors. I called them and told them when I'd like to appeal, and they told me someone should be contacting me to let me know if my proposed appeal time is accepted. They sure do make it hard to right an obvious wrong.

@Marksmu Both of my parents are teachers near retirement... so I know first hand what teachers go through. Despite what you think, here are some points you are forgetting... - Teachers spend a ton of their own $$ on their students (because state funding sucks). They get to write off a couple hundred bucks a year... but everything beyond that comes out of their salary - Teachers work far longer hours than you mention. I remember my parents constantly working on lesson plans at home, grading papers into the night, my dad would even do science experiments trying to determine the best methods for teaching his kids. Teachers also have meetings after school on their unpaid time... either with un-thankful parents (who's kid could never do anything wrong)... or power hungry principals. - Teachers deal with liability, legal, and security issues you'd never imagine (or encounter in an office job). I could tell you stories of gang members my dad had to tackle in order to protect other teachers getting attacked. I can tell you stories of threats against my life from gang members because my dad was a teacher that punished kids w/ brothers in a gang. I could elaborate more about the "sweet" life of teachers... but I feel it would be wasted on you. The real problem with our system is the politicians, district board members (that vote for the things you complain about), and other political idiots involved in education. Voters vote for those people... but fail to see how their votes bring about the problems they see... so they blame teachers instead. My parents are some of the hardest working people I've known. They've been attacked, threatened (by students and parents), worked tons of extra hours, and put up with more crap than you'll probably experience in your life... all because they care about kids and making society more intelligent. Trust me, they didn't do it for the retirement plan.

Editor, I started a thread on this awhile back (not sure if they should be merged)...

I never thought reading words on an internet post could give me heartburn.

There is supposed to be a rooftop bar... perhaps the roof will be "celtic gardens"? Sounds pretty cool if it is

Not when Camden owns half the land. BUT... Midtown owns the other half... and their job is to build parks.

I would argue there is a desire and need. Some of the main things Houstonians seem to complain about are traffic, parking in the city, and commute times (I was one of them). I moved to Midtown because of the mixed use and I no longer complain about any of those things. Just wait until Houston adds another million people... everyone will be complaining even more and wanting options to live near work and shopping. Plus, I'd love to see more ground retail so rental rates will come down on them. I keep trying to find a good storefront for my wife's business but everything is expensive. I say throw in more ground retail, let the rates drop, and then we could afford to rent out one of those places

Yeah, they started last week. I've been holding off on pictures and news until I see more substantial work going on.

Thanks for the heads up!

You're right. My buddy rides Greyhound and says the Austin station is very nice. My theory is that HPD and Greyhound do nothing about the loitering going on around it. If they moved in full force and ran off anyone hanging out w/out a bag... then things might change. Problem is people hang out even inside the station (and Greyhound's security does nothing to run them off). When I've been in there, they had homeless guys opening the front doors for people asking for money. If Greyhound won't even make an effort to run them off... there is no hope for this place.

Mister X is right and his correlation is accurate. Texas is in financial distress and he's arguing that instead of providing tax incentives for people to buy yachts... we shouldn't be firing teachers.

Yikes, are you saying you prefer McCain's VP choice over Obama's? I would say any old geriatric that picks a bimbo to replace him in case he dies should be prevented from running period.

It was supposed to go to the Intermodal Terminal north of Downtown... but funding for that went away.

My coworker was at a red light by the McDonald's when the gunman ran right by her shooting at HPD. She said the police were firing back so she floored it and ran the red light. It's amazing no one was hit. Yes, we need to remove this bush station asap.

It looks like I was beaten to the post about the OCR technology (I've had scanned documents on my own do this on me). Glad you posted the link. In order to run for president you are vetted like crazy in order to be proven eligible. Not to mention, I'm sure Hilary spent a good chunk of $$$ in hopes of finding something against him. The idea that someone could fool the FBI, FEC, their own party (and opponents), Election Judges, the rest of our government, etc. in order to run for president, become president... (and like some have done) claim all of those entities are "in on it" or something is so preposterous and against all sound reasoning that it infuriates me. This is the same reason I hope they never release the Osama photos. People will scrutinize them, claim Photoshop fakes, etc. I think these are the same people that believe the moon landing was done on a Hollywood back lot.

I've heard she has no plans to do so (apparently her church is right across the street). My guess is she'll live in it until she dies... then her relatives will sell it and the old house could become a bar like Komodos.

...And the process of Washington Avenue turning into Main Street begins. I think I can hear the popped collars flapping in the wind as they run to the next "hot" spot.

Just discovered a new rendering and information that Post will be building out a third phase in Midtown! More info here (with rendering from their investor report): http://innerlooped.com/809/post-midtown-phase-iii/