Economic Development

These Are Serious Issues: A First World Problems Playlist

Twenty-seven seconds into the song posted above, Canadian rocker Matthew Good says the phrase "first world problems." It is, as far as most Internet detectives can tell, the first time that phrase was used in a piece of art. Good wasn't setting out to create a punchline that would be beaten to death ... More >>

EarthQuest's Don Holbrook Threatens to Sue Critics into Submission

We couldn't help but laugh our asses off at the latest move by EarthQuest "consultant" Don Holbrook to silence two of his loudest critics: Last week, he hired an Ohio attorney to send cease and desist letters to Garland, Texas, resident Heather Dobrott, who runs a site called realscam.com, and to a ... More >>

EarthQuest's Don Holbrook Sued by Ohio City for Alleged Fraud

Don Holbrook, one of the masterminds behind the perpetually stalled New Caney clusterfuck known as EarthQuest, has been sued by the city of Huber Heights, Ohio, for allegedly performing a substandard economic analysis for the city. The city, located just northeast of Dayton, entered into a $66,000 ... More >>

Fantasy Land

A green amusement park was supposed to bring prosperity to New Caney, but so far, only a few have profited. And it still exists only on paper.

Kyle Field: Aggies Consider Tearing It Down

Here's a thing we never expected to hear from Texas A&M, which usually guards tradition like it's the essence of life: They're looking at tearing down Kyle Field. We're not saying Kyle Field shouldn't be replaced -- it's been added onto haphazardly enough to be a strange facility, and there is no d ... More >>

Miracle Faker

Rick Perry is right: America can learn from Texas. He's just wrong about what the lesson is.

Houston and the Blues

Viva the Houston Blues Scene.

What the Hell Is a Churkey?

bbc.comMy, those little turkens sure do look delicious!​What has the body of a chicken, the head of a turkey, and is bred for its skills in magic? Okay, so that last one's a rip on Napoleon Dynamite, but there really is such a beast, originating in the far corners of Eastern Europe. Recently ... More >>

Rick Perry's "Emergencies": An Agenda Set by Tea Party Talk Radio

Rick Perry: A Randolph Mantooth for our time​Another day, another Rick Perry "emergency": This time it's forcing women seeking abortions to have sonograms. You are forgiven if you are a Texas resident -- wondering how the hell the state is going to fund education, critical social services, hi ... More >>

FAIR-y Tales: Mexican Macro-economics

The Heights-Area Walmart's 380 Agreement: Council Voted On A Draft Version?

The Heights Walmart deal worked despite missing documents from the developer. That's sure to drive some people crazy​Hair Balls obtained new e-mails this week that reveal an interesting detail about the controversial 380 agreement between the city and developer Michael Ainbinder: The application, ... More >>

Heights-Area Walmart: Self-Created Traffic Jams To Prove A Point

Heights residents plan to stage a protest to show how bad traffic will be with a new Walmart. ​There hasn't been much noise lately about the Heights Walmart, except those embarrassing e-mails from city officials, but one group opposed to the development still has hopes that the project can be der ... More >>

City's Housing Department Axes 29 Jobs

Got to live within its means​The city's Department of Housing and Community Development has cut 29 jobs due to budget strains and will begin a restructuring "that will restore financial integrity, improve performance and facilitate expansion of the mission to include a new focus on community devel ... More >>

Peanut Butter Miracles

Amid the chaos that is Haiti, Dr. Patricia Wolff has made ending child malnutrition her life's work.

Annise Parker Appoints Committee To Study Continental Merger; Problem Solved

Some mellow mood music for the panel​Continental Airline's decision to merge with United and base itself out of Chicago wasn't very good news.But fret not: A committee has been appointed to study the situation.Mayor Annise Parker has announced the economic impact of the merger will be examined by ... More >>

"Debt-Relief" Companies Get Hit By Lawsuit

Robert Lock, slapped with an injunction​The West Virginia Attorney General has sued an alleged debt settlement company we investigated in December. However, one of the company's founders had told us the company -- predicated on the belief that when you get a credit card, the bank owes yo ... More >>

The Dynamo Stadium Plan Is Magic

​The greatest plan ever has been unveiled.Using absolutely no public funding, the city, by April 1, 2012, will get a 20,000 seat, $80 million Dynamo soccer/Texas State Southern University football stadium that will create a new section of downtown, which will undoubtedly boom with economic growth, ... More >>

Here's One Vote Against A New Dynamo Stadium

​So the Houston Dynamo are upset that Harris County hasn't yet given them money for their planned pleasure palace. Well cry me a river.I'm not sure if the Dynamo have noticed, but there's a rather severe recession going on in the country right now. And though the Dynamo are only asking for ten ... More >>

Campfire Christmas

Step back in time to the holidays, 1890s style

How Not To Repair Your Credit

​You might think that a business couldn't squeeze much money out people who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt, but where there's a will, and perhaps a paucity of ethics, there's a way.This week's Houston Press cover story takes a look at a rift between two "debt invalidation" companies, in ... More >>

Adios Bookstop and "Poll" Dancing

What Was And Wasn't In The Candidate Biographies Of that Latest Mayor's-Race Poll

​As we noted yesterday, most Houstonians have no idea who they want for their next mayor. A poll shows more than two-thirds don't favor any of the candidates, partly as a result of financially crimped campaigns that haven't been able to advertise much yet.Houstonians who were called for the poll a ... More >>

Silver Lining Huh?

Jitney

August Wilson offers up his own ‘70s show

Kyoto Protocol: Chill Out

Skeptical environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg questions the Kyoto Protocol's effectiveness

“A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City”

Interactive exhibit presented by Doctor’s without Borders

From Houston with Love

The city sends a special something to Africa

Caring for Clairice

A naked woman's traffic death rekindles concerns about Shed

Taxing Miss Daisy

Previous tax bills and blighted properties haunt the city housing director

Best Dive

The Roll'N Saloon

Close Quarters

Questions about conflicts of interest and motives cloud a $77 million city housing deal

Best Drive-thru Bank

Bank of America

Tax Lean

Want a subsidy for your corporate expansion? Local governments are ready with millions in property-tax abatements -- and very little oversight.

The Dispossessed

When HISD starts deciding whose homes to take, schoolkids are the only messengers. The Moríns learned that lesson too late.

Broken Promises

Fourth Ward residents are left with a harsh reality

Dubious Deal

Special tax zones are already stimulating growth-a thriving cottage industry of attorneys, lobbyists, high paid consultants, developers and questionable financial projections

Landrush

The city of Houston is being carved into special taxing districts, promising windfalls for some, financial burdens for others

Inner-city Shootout

Neartown braces for the ultimate development war at City Hall

Castles for Welfare Kings

Come 2023, Rice Hotel redevelopers can own their federally assisted project for a cool $1,000

Situational Ethics

As Jew Don Boney has moved upward in public life, have his values changed to meet his needs rather than those of his constituents?

No Shame

Real people are being evicted from the Fourth Ward. And real people are responsible for their plight.

Dish

Fourth Ward or Bust

Houston Renaissance still hasn't secured private financing to redevelop the Fourth Ward, and its time may be running out

Fighting the Renaissance

A family battles to save its land -- and a homeless shelter -- from an urban-renewal juggernaut

Letters

The Great Land Grab

A nonprofit "charity" is pursuing millions in taxpayers' money to redevelop the Fourth Ward. The question for Houston Renaissance is, charity for whom?

Midtown Jamboree

Why let a few conflicts of interest get in the way of a grand redevelopment scheme?

Mr. Stevens' Neighborhood

Dollar-a-year mayoral assistant Michael Stevens has been given unprecedented power and funding to transform the inner city. And he answers to just one man.

Stadia Watch

Lenwood Johnson's Last Stand

APV is more than his home. It's his life. No wonder he can't let it go without one final struggle.