Email Author Tim Fleck

2002 Stories by Tim Fleck

• All I Want for Christmas Is...

  published December 26, 2002

  It's that time of year again, when we kick back and count our blessings and spread the wretched excess among friends and those fortunate enough... More >>

• City Blames Metro for Cash Crunch

  published December 19, 2002

  Just as Metropolitan Transit Authority officials are preparing a comprehensive transportation plan to submit to voters next fall, a fracas has... More >>

• The Schmooze Returns to City Hall

  published December 12, 2002

  Last week's City Council session served up yet another bruising sucker punch to the jowls of battered Mayor Lee Brown. Mayor Pro Tem... More >>

• Bad Judge; Worse Security Guard

  published December 12, 2002

  Last week The Insider reported on the job-hunting adventures of Stephen Mansfield, the former state Court of Criminal Appeals judge who had... More >>

• Do the City Hall Shuffle!

  published December 5, 2002

  Fund-raising won't start till early next year, but the holiday season is the effective kickoff for the upcoming Houston municipal election... More >>

• If You See Them, Say Hello!

  published December 5, 2002

  Former candidates and officeholders have a way of popping up in the strangest places. If you're planning a trip to the Caribbean, keep your eye... More >>

• Food Fight Hiccup

  published November 28, 2002

  Just when you thought the battle for that lucrative City of Houston food and beverage concession at Hobby Airport had been conclusively settled in... More >>

• Culture

  published November 21, 2002

  Nearly three decades after roots reggae bubbled out of a handful of recording laboratories in Kingston, Jamaica, and spilled onto the world's... More >>

• Bush Envy

  published November 14, 2002

  The fallout from last week's Democratic meltdown continues to ripple across the local landscape. Three-term Harris County Democratic chair Sue... More >>

• Oliver's Story

  published November 7, 2002

  Now we know. Mayor Lee Brown came into office five years ago promising to institute neighborhood-oriented government. With the recent snap... More >>

• Bye to the Good Ol' Boys?

  published October 31, 2002

  An eastside crowd of chamber of commerce types gathered recently at the Houston Yacht Club for lunch and were treated to a rare dessert: the... More >>

• Dream Team or Bad Dream?

  published October 31, 2002

  The political electricity got stuck on low voltage as the Texas Dream Team mounted a riser in front of Houston City Hall for a pre-election rally.... More >>

• Food Fight Indigestion

  published October 24, 2002

  The upset victory of Four Families for the Hobby Airport food concession last week shocked Mayor Lee Brown, who more and more is looking... More >>

• District 25 Forecast: Campaign Heatwave!

  published October 17, 2002

  After a fairly low-key start, the contest to pick a successor to District 25 Congressman Ken Bentsen is starting to crackle as candidates... More >>

• Honey, I Implicated the Kids!

  published October 10, 2002

  After his arraignment on 140 years' worth of felony charges, Andy Fastow's inglorious exit from the federal building last week bore a... More >>

• Much Ado About Cussin'

  published September 26, 2002

  The dawn of November 3, 2000, ushered in a bad day in the decade-long tenure of Houston Police Chief Clarence O. Bradford. He hadn't even... More >>

• Chris Bell

  published September 26, 2002

  It isn't every day a politician wins the inside track to one office by getting beaten in a race for another. But that's exactly what happened to... More >>

• Follow the Bouncing Checks!

  published September 19, 2002

  The invitations last spring for the third annual Hispanic Scholarship of Greater Houston reception at Minute Maid Park looked impressive. They... More >>

• Chow Time!

  published September 12, 2002

  Politics is the subtext of much of what goes on at Houston City Hall, but rarely is the musk of rutting municipal wheeler-dealers so overwhelming... More >>

• Angel in the Midwest

  published September 5, 2002

  For anyone wondering what has become of former editor Gerald Garcia of the doomed Houston Post, the self-nicknamed "Angel of Death" has... More >>

• Costs You Money!

  published September 5, 2002

  In addition to his manic "saves you money" commercials, Gallery Furniture's Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale has built his reputation in... More >>

• Reaping the Wind

  published August 29, 2002

  The media scrum sweated bullets outside the federal building last week, expectantly awaiting two headliners of the developing legal war on the... More >>

• Overdose

  published August 22, 2002

  It's a mid-afternoon Tuesday in the late-summer doldrums at Houston City Hall.A wheelchair-bound woman rails to City Council about the... More >>

• Adept Ada

  published August 22, 2002

  If Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is the sort of political infant terrible regularly produced by the endlessly rocking cradle of Houston... More >>

• Don't Rock My Boat!

  published August 22, 2002

  When there's a choice between doing things nasty or nice, it seems nasty generally wins out at Houston City Hall these days. Maybe things are just... More >>