Email Author Bob Burtman

1997 Stories by Bob Burtman

• Changing the Channel

  published December 25, 1997

  Thirty years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers drafted a plan to solve flooding problems along Clear Creek. About 500 homes in the fledgling... More >>

• Celtic Boom

  published December 25, 1997

  The avalanche of excellent roots-music releases over the last 12 months has been but one facet of a banner year for Celtic culture on this side of... More >>

• Who's in Charge Here?

  published November 27, 1997

  To city engineer Parke Reid, the choice was obvious: A major thoroughfare should be designed to minimize the possibility of high water in the... More >>

• See No Evil

  published November 27, 1997

  On July 7, 1995, Gator Recycles International deposited $824 in the Rockets season-ticket account of Paul Gilmore, a senior inspector with the... More >>

• Caution: Consultants Ahead

  published November 13, 1997

  It was back in April of 1993 when the city's Public Works and Engineering Department picked Terra Associates to manage its new "Neighborhood... More >>

• Experience? Credentials? Who Needs 'Em?

  published November 13, 1997

  Naresh Dham figured he was an excellent bet for a promotion. An administration manager in the plan review section of the public works department's... More >>

• Easy Street

  published October 30, 1997

  The North Central repaving project looked good, at least on paper. Part of Mayor Bob Lanier's widely acclaimed Neighborhoods to Standard program,... More >>

• The Incredible Expanding Contract

  published October 30, 1997

  More than a decade ago, the city hired the engineering firm CRS Sirrine to design storm sewer and street reconstruction improvements on East... More >>

• Rotation

  published October 9, 1997

  Lisa Stansfield Lisa Stansfield Arista The rock and R&B traditions have long made a fetish of privileging the new. Typically,... More >>

• Golfin' Fools

  published October 2, 1997

  There's something about Houston's municipal golf courses that brings out the worst in the city's public officials. Less than two years ago, the... More >>

• The Outsider

  published September 25, 1997

  Weird Power Trip The world-class pyrotechnics have turned to ash, the world-class traffic jam has dispersed and the world-class mountain of... More >>

• Sweet Deal

  published September 4, 1997

  August 5 was just another day at Harris County Commissioners Court. After awarding millions of dollars in contracts and quickly dispatching other... More >>

• Plugged In

  published August 21, 1997

  Prodigy's number one debut notwithstanding, music industry watchers remain leery of electronica's potential for success -- as they should. So far,... More >>

• Helter Shelter

  published July 31, 1997

  When Jennifer Franklin's boyfriend found out that she and her four children were staying at a battered women's shelter in Pasadena, she decided it... More >>

• Funk Flashback

  published July 31, 1997

  Getting to the heart of that dirty and devilish genre known as funk can be somewhat akin to searching out nude pictures of Martha Stewart on the... More >>

• Toxic Leak?

  published July 24, 1997

  None of the lawyers gathered in Judge Sharolyn Wood's courtroom after lunch on July 14 looked especially happy as they crowded around the bench.... More >>

• Beyond the Stars

  published July 24, 1997

  Rock history generally suggests that talented lesser-knowns can benefit from the coddling of a proven commodity, if only for the most obvious... More >>

• Stadia Watch

  published July 10, 1997

  Anywhere you go, it's tough to get a precise estimate on the cost of stadium construction. Milwaukee's proposed $250 million baseball park, for... More >>

• Besieged by the Bay

  published June 26, 1997

  It's a beautiful, breezy day on Galveston Bay, and Rick Handley is in his element, taking in the world from the deck of neighbor Sonny Butler's... More >>

• No Frills Allowed

  published June 12, 1997

  It's fitting that Tom Russell's new retrospective CD says nothing about greatest hits, instead going with the oblique title The Long Way Around.... More >>

• Shadow Over Texas City

  published May 29, 1997

  From certain angles, Hester Joiner's wood-frame house on the south side of Texas City looks like any pleasant small-town dwelling: modest but tidy... More >>

• Bass Boss

  published May 15, 1997

  There have been plenty of bass-playing stars in pop music history -- all you have to do is think of Paul McCartney and his upside-down Hofner,... More >>

• Capital Blues

  published May 8, 1997

  Forgive W.C. Clark if he makes the most of his association with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Clark isn't just some opportunistic sideman who did a stint or... More >>

• Cotswold Unspun

  published May 1, 1997

  The spacious banquet room at the new Kim Son was packed. The latest addition to Market Square, the restaurant itself is one more sign of renewed... More >>

• Smile! It's Earth Day!

  published April 24, 1997

  Laser Bleaching, complimentary consultation," read the back of the business card distributed by volunteers manning the Laser Whitening tent at... More >>