Tag Archives: Fifth Ward

City settles dumping complaint with Justice Department

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston will not face punishment after settling a Justice Department probe into whether the city’s system of responding to illegal dumping calls violated the Civil Rights Act by disregarding Black and Latino neighborhoods. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration reached a three-year voluntary resolution with … Continue reading →

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“One Clean Houston”

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday unveiled a $17.8 million illegal dumping initiative aimed at expediting cleanups, increasing surveillance and enforcement, and prioritizing areas hardest hit by Houston’s roadside trash problem. Standing beside an illegal dumpsite strewn with … Continue reading →

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The Evergreen Negro Cemetery

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. City and METRO officials have discovered 33 burial sites, including three that appear fully intact, near a historic Black cemetery on Lockwood Drive, which the city apparently missed when it tore through the site to expand the street in … Continue reading →

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The Census and gentrification

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some population trends of interest in Houston. People of color led Houston’s growth over the last 10 years, but that trend wasn’t reflected across all the city’s historic Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Census data released earlier this month paints a … Continue reading →

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Who gets displaced by I-45?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping in mind, the cost of expanding I-45 is more than just dollars. The I-45 project’s toll on local property owners would be unprecedented for TxDOT in Houston, potentially relocating hundreds of families and businesses. Estimated to cost at … Continue reading →

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So can we call the Metro bus system reimagining a success yet?

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

If no news is good news, then Metro is swimming in good news, because I haven’t seen much coverage of its new bus system rollout since the opening days. Perhaps all that concern (expressed by one person) about disaster and … Continue reading →

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Metro board approves updated bus reimagining plan

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

With some provisos. Despite vocal opposition, Metropolitan Transit Authority board members tentatively approved sweeping changes to the bus route system that restructure routes and change daily habits for nearly everyone who uses a bus today. The approval authorizes staff to … Continue reading →

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On schools and neighborhoods

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Efforts to revitalize neighborhoods in the Fifth Ward are running into HISD’s proposal to close five schools. Nearly half the students who attend Nathaniel Q. Henderson Elementary School live steps away from campus in an aging, rundown apartment complex. The … Continue reading →

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Food deserts and booze bans

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. A city ordinance intended to keep alcohol sales at a distance from schools and churches could be relaxed for grocery stores in an effort to alleviate some of the so-called “food deserts” that plague poorer neighborhoods across Houston. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Ward revitalization

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m very glad to see this renewal project going on it the Fifth Ward. But now the stains of that past are being scrubbed clean by the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation with what it calls the Lyons Avenue Renaissance. … Continue reading →

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On helping District B

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

District B Council Member Jerry Davis is taking a direct approach to improving his district. Davis hopes to inspire through his do-it-yourself approach a strengthened ethic of self-reliance. The answers to the challenges of District B, and there are many … Continue reading →

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Ike rebuilding funds finally coming

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. More than 3½ years after Hurricane Ike, a high-ranking federal housing official and Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday that $151 million in federal disaster relief money is on the way to four areas of Houston to rebuild or … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on the new density rules

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

With all that went on last year in Houston, one item that had been on the table was a revision of Chapter 42, to redefine the rules about density and other codes for developers. The planned revisions never made it … Continue reading →

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Our diverse region

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. The Houston region is now the most ethnically diverse large metropolitan area in the country, surpassing New York City. Two suburbs – Missouri City and Pearland – have become even more diverse than the city of Houston. Other suburbs … Continue reading →

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Where the poverty is

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all around us, but more in some places than in others. The number of Houston-area residents living in very poor neighborhoods almost doubled over the past decade, which researchers say increases their risk for unemployment, health problems and crime. … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Ward

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray writes about a popular art project making a reappearance in a new place. Six years ago, the white guys – Dan Havel and Dean Ruck – smashed up a couple of other bungalows, and in the process, created … Continue reading →

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