—————————————————— Best Scientific | Breakthrough 2011 | Alan Levander and Team, Rice University | Best of Houston® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Houston | Houston Press
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Best Scientific Breakthrough

Alan Levander and Team, Rice University

The asthenosphere and lithosphere don't usually concern us, but thankfully a brainiac team over at Rice University led by Alan Levander has them on their radar. There's a huge section of land known as the Colorado Plateau; it has a "rising while it's sinking" quality that's had scientists scratching their heads for a while. Seems the bottom layers (that's the asthenosphere) are pushing up, while the top layers (the lithosphere) are sinking down. This rising-while-it's-sinking phenomenon might not mean a lot to you and me, but once Levander and his team figured out that's what was going on with the Colorado Plateau, geologists all over the world got real excited. Finally, the mystery was solved.

Best Think Tank

James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy

The Baker Institute is the place to turn for the latest trends in national and international affairs, and how to change them. A nonpartisan think tank, it brings together experts across all disciplines — academia, media, business and nonprofits. Journalists, policymakers, even U.S. presidents have lectured and hosted seminars at the Baker Institute. Fellows teach classes and seminars at Rice, and students can intern for the think tank. This year, the Baker Institute held an energy conference on what to do about the Japanese nuclear crisis. With an all-star board of advisers including Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, the Baker Institute offers a unique Houston perspective on affairs of the world.

Best Law Office

Tim Hootman

In selecting sites for their offices, most lawyers go for weighty solemnity or tried-and-true antique charm — think vintage Heights Boulevard arts-and-crafts bungalow. Not appellate court lawyer Tim Hootman. His riotously colored assemblage of old rail cars — a caboose, a boxcar and an old Pullman sleeper — on the corner of Pease and Dowling is just plain fun. You might think Hootman is a train fanatic, but he has long protested that he is not. Instead, he's just a guy who likes to play with architecture, and this woebegone fringe of downtown is much the better for it.

Best Thinker: Getting Electricity into Homes

Wind Power in Texas

Hard as it may be to believe, Texas is actually on the green cutting-edge when it comes to providing electricity, thanks to its enthusiastic adoption of wind power. The blustery, abandoned Panhandle is tailor-made for windmills, but other areas of the state are just as perfect. The world's largest windmill farm is a billion-dollar operation with more than 600 huge turbines in Nolan County (county seat: Sweetwater). The biggest problem is getting the electricity into homes: building the power lines. (If there were a cheap and efficient way to store the power until it was needed, that would help, too.) Wind power is growing, and Texas is leading the way.

Best Cultural Corner

Bissonnet and Rampart

The run-down plaza near the intersection of Bissonnet and Rampart may not look like much, but this is no ordinary strip mall. It's the cheapest trip around the world you'll ever take. At Maru Grocery, Houston's one-stop shop for all things Ethiopian, you can buy fresh spices, just-made injera and a slew of Ethiopian cookbooks. For a bit of magick, head next door to Botanica Elegua, an Afro-Cuban voodoo and Santeria shop. A Mexican restaurant, Colombian restaurant and Salvadoran restaurant populate the rest of the plaza. Finish off your tour du monde with a sweet taste at Panaderia y Pasteleria, a Mexican bakery and torta store. Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Houston anymore.

Best Local Democrat

State Representative Scott Hochberg

It was a brutal legislative session for public education in Texas this year, as the Tea Party Caucus demanded budget cuts that had districts slashing programs and laying off teachers. Democrats like Scott Hoch­berg were hopelessly outnumbered, but did the best they could fighting rear-guard actions to protect as much as possible. Hoch­berg has long made himself one of the most knowledgeable and effective members when it comes to public education, and those who support good schools needed every bit of his expertise and savvy this year.

Best Local Republican

State Representative Dan Huberty

Let's face it: It was not a good year for Republicans in the legislature, unless by "good" you mean "getting everything they wanted passed." Which is probably how they define it, sure. But the session turned into an orgy of slashing budgets for health and education and passing a bunch of social-issue bills that seemed generated from your cranky uncle's e-mail forwards. One Republican stood out from the partisan mess, and it was newcomer Dan Huberty from Humble. A former school board president, he calmly showed a willingness to work across the aisle and listen. "If there were such elections, he would have won freshman class president by a landslide," Texas Monthly wrote in its Best & Worst Legislators edition.

Best Place to See Wildlife in the City

Memorial Park Mountain Bike Trails

The north side of Memorial Park may be where all the eye candy is, but the south side is the less-beaten path, featuring a winding network of multi-use and all-terrain dirt trails for hiking and biking. It's also perfect for wildlife spotting. During the day it's a haven to butterflies, squirrels and birds, like woodpeckers and jays. Toward dusk you can see anything from baby armadillos to turtles lounging in the bayou to bats from the nearby Waugh Bridge colony drinking from the water. Once, after a rainstorm, we even scared up a water moccasin.

Best Thinker: Flood Control Innovator

City Councilman Stephen Costello

No one who lives here needs to be told that Houston can flood every now and then. Doing something about it, though, can be intimidating — drainage and flood projects can be hugely expensive, take years and years to plan, approve and build, and only affect limited areas. Stephen Costello and others decided to take a big-picture approach and rolled the dice on a referendum called Renew Houston, which takes the financial strain of flood projects largely off the city budget. Voters approved a monthly fee that will eventually fund $10 billion in improvement projects and nothing else. It will be a while before we see any results, of course, but flood planning and prevention in Houston is suddenly looking a lot brighter.

Best Place to Change a Child's Life

Texas Children's Hospital

You only have to hear Robin Dysart's story to understand the life-changing work being done by the staff of dedicated doctors, nurses and researchers at Texas Children's Hospital. Dysart's nine-year-old son had suffered from epileptic seizures his whole life, often as many as two or three an hour. As the seizures became more and more severe, Dysart and her husband knew that medication would no longer provide their son the relief he needed. Luckily, Dysart found an expert at TCH who offered them laser surgery, a procedure so new that TCH was the only one to offer it. Placing their trust in the TCH staff, the family agreed to the procedure. The result? Dysart's son hasn't had a single seizure since the operation. That's just one of thousands of TCH stories with happy endings.

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