Search Results for: astrodome

Is it finally time to do something with the Dome?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A few days ago, a woman named Cynthia Neely took to CultureMap to demand that we Do Something about the Astrodome. Regardless of whether you love or hate the Astrodome, the building is owned by the county and in effect … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Speed trap city

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, we’re number one. The number one speed trap city in America, that is. Houston, TX Speed traps: 373 And the winning city is from … Texas! Seriously, the speed traps in Texas are so bad, Dornsife said, “any place … Continue reading →

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Yet another threat to light rail expansion

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Great. The House could vote as soon as mid-February on a plan by the conservative House Republican Study Committee to end the 35-year-old Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” program,” which pours $2 billion-a-year into urban transit projects such as Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The 2011 Hall of Fame ballot

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourself for lots of posturing and moralizing about the eeeeevils of steroids and the general decline of society. Suspected steroid users Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez are on baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, joining Bert … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Nobody likes the Dome options

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the three options for the Astrodome that the Sports and Convention Corporation presented a couple of months ago? That recent KHOU poll included questions about those three options: Harris County is considering three proposals for the Astro Dome. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Do we really want to save the Dome?

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to the Department of Anecdotal Evidence, we do. Respondents to an online survey run by Reliant Park’s landlord “overwhelmingly” support saving the Astrodome, according to the official in charge of the survey. Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on the three options for the Dome

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As promised last week, we now have more information on the three options for the Dome. The Sports & Convention Corporation hosted a news conference Monday to present the broad outlines of three possible plans for the 45-year-old Astrodome and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Three options for the Dome

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been talking for a long time now about what is to become of the Astrodome. Harris County officials have some possible scenarios to discuss next week as part of a master plan for Reliant Park. Like it or not, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Still trying to save the Dome

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nancy Sarnoff reports. A new page has sprung up on Facebook called Save the Astrodome. It was created by the Houstonian behind www.AmnesiaHouston.org, a Web site aimed at bringing attention to the city’s disappearing landmarks. The creator compares the Astrodome … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

One last time for the Dome and the Dynamo

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose now that the Dynamo have finally gotten an official commitment from all relevant parties to go forward with their downtown stadium idea that it was inevitable the question of why didn’t they just use the Astrodome came up … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, Texas Stadium

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It went boom on Sunday morning. More than 38 years of football and entertainment memories came crashing down Sunday morning when 11-year-old Casey Rogers pushed the button that set off 2,715 pounds of dynamite, leveling Texas Stadium in less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

RIP, Sister Damian Kuhn

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is the sweetest story you’ll read all week. One spring season when the Astros were in a particularly bad slump, Sister Damian Kuhn made her way to owner Drayton McLane’s office, dressed in her traditional blue habit and veil. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Early voting starts tomorrow

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from the County Clerk‘s office: IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING BEGINS FOR MARCH 2 PRIMARY ELECTIONS: STRONG TURNOUT WILL NOT SURPRISE Houston, TX, – Early voting by personal appearance for the upcoming Democratic and Republican Primary Elections in Harris … Continue reading →

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This implosion is brought to you by…

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Only in Dallas… Texas Stadium will come down this spring in a “Cheddar Explosion.” That’s the name that Kraft Foods has given to its promotional campaign for the implosion of the iconic structure. In its last act of 2009, the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Leaders of the pack

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, Derek Jeter passed Lou Gehrig as the all-time hits leader for the New York Yankees, collecting his 2,722nd hit to move atop the leaderboard. In writing about this just before it happened, MLB.com gave a fascinating list of … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

More on the city-county TIRZ deal

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron does a kind of big picture overview story of the city-county TIRZ deal that we heard about earlier this week. If successful, the months-long negotiations between the city and Harris County could provide a solution for problems that … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A city-county threefer?

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering why there didn’t seem to be any progress in making a Dynamo Stadium deal, it appears the reason for that is there will be much more to it than just a stadium deal. The city … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think the key bit in this story about the Astros’ policy forbidding fans from bringing their own food into the stadium is this: Most MLB teams list their policies on outside food and drink on their Web sites. Details … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Downtown post office for sale

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the Postal Service is looking to sell some of its properties around town. Now they have announced that the downtown location on Franklin Street is one of them. Real estate experts and downtown boosters envision the property … Continue reading →

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Downtown post office for sale

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Greg Wythe

We know that the Postal Service is looking to sell some of its properties around town. Now they have announced that the downtown location on Franklin Street is one of them. Real estate experts and downtown boosters envision the property … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

We’ll always have bottlenecks

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Andrew Burleson points out an ugly fact. Has anyone else noticed that traffic on I-10 is still not great? I have a ‘reverse’ commute on I-10 every day. Before the expansion traffic was fine inside the loop outbound in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 9 Comments

We’ll always have bottlenecks

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson points out an ugly fact. Has anyone else noticed that traffic on I-10 is still not great? I have a ‘reverse’ commute on I-10 every day. Before the expansion traffic was fine inside the loop outbound in the … Continue reading →

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Another Final Four for Houston

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like that trip to Indianapolis has paid off. The NCAA announced Wednesday that Reliant Stadium will be the site of the 2016 men’s basketball Final Four, setting the stage for the city to host one of the nation’s premier … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Dynamo Stadium rally

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Dynamo fans have their say about the East End stadium plan and the need for Commissioners Court to get involved for the current financing plan to happen. Houston East End Chamber of Commerce President Diane Lipton said it’s important for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 2 Comments

Still looking for more Final Fours

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in January, a Houston delegation set out to lure more NCAA Men’s Final Four events to our fair city. They’re still working on it now. Local organizers behind Houston’s bid to bring another Final Four to Reliant Stadium will … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Early voting Day Three: Strong and consistent

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another strong day of early voting, with 43,782 ballots cast in Harris County. That’s up slightly from yesterday, and as before, more than double the total from same day in 2004. As you can see in the spreadsheet, it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

How would you recycle all that?

Posted on October 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Given all the tree debris that resulted from Hurricane Ike, it comes as no surprise that there’s way more of the stuff than the city knows what to do with. So the city is asking for your help to figure … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Comments Off on How would you recycle all that?

Mighty big pile of debris you’ve (still) got there

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of debris to be dealt with. More than a third of the heaping piles of debris in front of Houston households have yet to be touched by the army of laborers tasked with cleaning them up, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 1 Comment

Council still looking at convention center hotel options

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

We sure do seem to want another convention center hotel around here, don’t we? The city is ready to step up efforts to land a second convention center hotel, offering a local tax rebate to encourage developers to build within … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Harris County sample ballot

Posted on September 25, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

For your perusal. Note, as Alan Bernstein did, that the special election for SD17 is the first thing people in that district will see, before the straight-ticket and Presidential races. If the other counties do the same thing, there should … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

It’s “Guess the endorsement” time again

Posted on September 23, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

We’re past Labor Day, the conventions are over, and as we head into the last few weeks of the campaign season, it’s time once again to ponder the eternal mysteries of the Houston Chronicle’s endorsement processes. As I’ve done for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

Donor fatigue

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big problem. [T]his year’s succession of disasters has overwhelmed donors, nonprofit leaders believe. Additionally, people are holding on tighter to their money because of the uncertain economy. Bush asked for contributions to the American Red Cross in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 2 Comments

The recovery

Posted on September 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna take awhile. Houston Mayor Bill White said this morning ice and fresh water are on the way, although he couldn’t give a timetable. He said fuel is being distributed first to those with “critical needs,” such as hospitals … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 2 Comments

Texans, Rodeo back off Dome hotel opposition

Posted on August 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The most significant obstacle to any kind of Astrodome hotel plan was opposition from the Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It now looks like that opposition has softened somewhat. “We will be pleased to work with the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Texans, Rodeo back off Dome hotel opposition