Ed Gonzalez

HPD vs. Food Trucks

Why Do Houston Police Keep Bothering Food Truck Oh My Gogi?

Houston police spokesperson, John Cannon, has trouble not laughing when he hears about the food truck Oh My Gogi. It's not their complaints, or their food, or the owners. It's the name. Oh. My. Gogi. The punchlines pretty much write themselves. Oh My Gogi isn't laughing. Owner Eric Nguyen says the ... More >>

Oh My Gogi's Continuing HPD Problems

Houston police spokesperson John Cannon has trouble not laughing when he hears about the food truck Oh My Gogi. It's not their complaints, or their food, or the owners. It's the name. Oh. My. Gogi. The punchlines pretty much write themselves. Oh My Gogi isn't laughing. Owner Eric Nguyen says the H ... More >>

City Councilwoman Helena Brown Tried to Force Out Staffer For Pregnancy, Letter Says

City Councilwoman Helena Brown, of District A, wouldn't allow six staff members to leave a meeting last April until everyone signed a document saying Brown had told a 22-year-old staffer she should seek medical care because of her pregnancy, according to a letter that employee filed with Mayor Pro T ... More >>

Houston's Cryptic New Noise Ordinance

Confusing new law has bar and club owners screaming.

Cover Story: Houston's Noise Ordinance Has Bar and Club Owners Screaming

Things have been quite noisy since Houston's new noise ordinance became law. In this week's cover story, Houston Press examined the effects of the citywide sound ordinance, which Houston City Council passed on October 10. While a Houston Police Department officer is confident that the noise ordin ... More >>

Cover Story: Houston's Controversial Noise Ordinance

In this week's cover story, Houston Press examined the effects of the citywide sound ordinance, which Houston City Council passed on October 10. While a Houston Police Department officer is confident that the noise ordinance task force (whose members aren't required to carry decibel meters) is doi ... More >>

5 Things You Missed at the East End Street Festival

This past Saturday, East End residents celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a block party on Harrisburg -- steps away from where the new East End light rail line will soon be operating. The street festival, sponsored by the Greater East End District, featured performers such as Los Pistoleros de Tejas and ... More >>

It's Now Illegal to Feed [More Than Five] Homeless People [at Once] on Public Property

After a protracted debate and opposition from nearly every political and religious group in the city, Houston's City Council passed an ordinance last week that bans serving charitable meals on properties -- public or private -- where the property owner hadn't granted express permission for you to do ... More >>

Red-Light Cameras in Dilemma Zone Until Next Week

Photo by Mandy OaklanderAndy Taylor, counsel for ATS, tells Houston to pay up if they renege.​In today's special-edition episode of Houston versus (?) Red-Light Cameras, the mayor and city council could have turned off the cameras -- immediately and forever. But no decision was made. Within ... More >>

Glenbrook Valley, Our Recent Cover-Story Subject, Becomes a Historic District

​Just before 10 a.m. today, Houston City Council approved the historic district applications for Glenbrook Valley, Woodland Heights and Heights South. The mid-century modern neighborhood Glenbrook Valley, at the center of a contentious debate and the subject of the Press' June 23 cover story, ... More >>

Rest Easy, Northside: Irvington Fire Station To Remain Open During Renovations

HFD: Thanking the right people in their backtracking​Northside residents had been mightily pissed at the thought that the fire station in the 4900 block of Irvington was going to be shuttered while it was renovated. They can rest easy: HFD has announced it will keep the place up and running w ... More >>

Heights Walmart: That Mysterious 380 Agreement Continues Being Mysterious

Latest from the Heights: inaccuracies in the city council's "request for council action."​It's been about three weeks since we last wrote about the Heights Walmart and a possibility of a missing 380 application from developer Michael Ainbinder. We still haven't gotten any clarification from the ci ... More >>

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 >>

Liveblogging the Walmart Vote

The City Council is set to vote this morning on a proposed 380 agreement with developer Michael Ainbinder, who plans to build a Walmart near the Heights. The vote could technically be delayed another week, but Mayor Parker said yesterday if a council member tries to do that, she'd overrule the ... More >>

Walmart Tagged, Metro Gets Spotlight At City Council

At least one city council member asked Metro if it's time to re-evaluate certain plans. ​At a Houston City Council meeting that was supposed to clear up a few things about a planned Walmart development near the Heights, Metro, and its financial mess, ended up being the issue of the morning. Counci ... More >>

Heights Walmart: City Council Gets An Earful

No Walmart, no peace​Members of the "Stop Heights Walmart" group came out in force to the City Hall meeting Tuesday to let officials get a glimpse of a small part of the opposition that has grown to more than 4,000 members in the past few weeks.Meanwhile, Houston officials told Hair Balls they are ... More >>

Heights Walmart: Lots Of Questions, Few Answers At Meeting

Walmart: concerns about crime, infrastructure and transparency​Even though it's not yet been signed and delivered, Heights residents are already trying to figure out how to deal with the possibility that a big-box monster might be moving in next door.Residents spoke at the Greater Heights Super Ne ... More >>

Houston's Craziest

In a one-of-a-kind short list, HPD names the 30 most troubled mentally ill in the city.

Vote Delayed, Entertainingly, On BARC Chief's Contract

Photo by abcrumley​City Council once again delayed the vote on extending BARC Interim Chief Gerry Fusco's contract today, possibly killing any chance to revive the vote in the future. Fusco's initial agreement with the city, made possible via a $49,500 purchase order, expires Friday.Health a ... More >>

City Council Once Again Considers BARC; Once Again Does Little To Nothing

Photo by abcrumley​City Council delayed voting again on extending the contract for Gerry Fusco, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care's interim chief. Council members Ronald Green and Pam Holm asked that the vote be tabled. (Green told Hair Balls earlier this week that he hadn't read the contra ... More >>

Adrian Garcia's Campaign Manager Wants To Move Up