To say that the town of West has had a rough time is pretty much the understatement of the year. Since a fertilizer plant exploded, killing 15 people and leaving half the town looking like it had been wiped out by a nuclear bomb, the people of West have been struggling to rebuild and move on from the tragedy. There has been help from the federal government, but now it turns out that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is denying funds to help rebuild the town, according to the Associated Press.

FEMA has already provided a ton of money -- millions -- to aid the town, but the decision means the residents of West won't be getting the funding that would help them repair their infrastructure, such as the roads, the electric lines, the sewer lines and, you know, that school that got blown up.

Gov. Rick Perry issued a statement on the FEMA decision on Wednesday, and it's stating the obvious to say he made it pretty clear he's understandably not happy with the decision.

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Well, crap.

If you were planning on taking a trip to the Galleria today, you might want to rethink those plans. An oil tanker turned over on 610 South at 59 and it has closed the entire freeway down. Reports are suggesting one of the busiest interchanges in the city could be closed ALL DAY. Yikes.

In recent days, this intersection was revealed to be, to the surprise of no one, the most accident-prone in the city and one of the worst in the state. It's a brutal bastard of an interchange, and anyone who has had to drive it even once wishes they hadn't.

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UPDATE: The four firefighters taken to the hospital died as the result of injuries and smoke inhalation according to reports. One of them was a 24-year-old rookie, Anne Sullivan.

Original entry:

Multiple outlets are reporting a five-alarm fire at the Bhojan Restaurant at 6855 Southwest Freeway. The fire, which continues to burn at the time this was written, has sent four firefighters to the hospital, all in critical condition. KHOU is reporting one of the firefighters was being given CPR by EMTs.

So far, there is no word on the safety of hotel guests or diners at the restaurant. There is also no indication of how the fire started, but smoke is blowing across the freeway, creating difficult driving conditions and significant traffic in the area. Bhojan is an Indian vegetarian restaurant in the Sharpstown area inside the Southwest Inn, at the same location.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's office confirmed to Hair Balls that Downing Street Pub Manager Joseph Dufault died in Sunday's single-vehicle wreck on Allen Parkway. Dufault was driving a Hummer around 2 p.m. near Waugh when he sped off a curve before smashing into a tree. He was 29.

According to KHOU, witnesses said the Hummer was "driving too fast...and flipped several times before landing upside down." A female passenger was also in the car, but escaped with minor injuries.

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UPDATE January 28: This morning, a judge dropped the two charges against Carlton Berry. He had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Trey Foster, the second suspect who was arrested last Friday, is still facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

UPDATE January 24: A second suspect has been arrested and charged in the shooting. Trey Foster, 21, was arrested in Plano Friday morning and was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Original post follows:

A shooting has taken place at the main campus of Lone Star College in north Harris County.

Details are scant at this point, but according to other news outlets, three people were shot at the campus around 12:30 p.m. One of the people shot may be a gunman. It's also believed that another gunman got away.

At 12:52 p.m., school officials posted the followed statement on its Web site: "LSC-North Harris campus evacuation is in progress. A couple of armed suspects reported; injuries reported. Incident limited to LSC-North Harris."

At 1:40 p.m., Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia tweeted, "HCSO has an active shooter scene working at Lone Star College... Please avoid the area if possible."

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via Gigaom

If you have Verizon Wireless cellphone service in the Houston area, today you have no doubt gotten about three AMBER alerts texts to your phone, about an hour apart from one another, alerting you to look out for a 2002 Chevy Blazer and to consult local media.

The alerts came with a special vibration and tone that I had never noticed from my cellphone.

Today's AMBER alert is for a missing boy out of San Antonio, last seen with his father.

A lot of people have taken to Twitter and Facebook to ask why they are getting these messages. Even Houston Texans QBs Matt Schaub and T.J. Yates are asking about them aloud on Twitter.

I for one don't mind getting AMBER alerts since they could and have saved lives, but some are seeing it as a nefarious intrusion.

"What else can they (the government) send to us now?"

Looking at the Verizon Wireless FAQ, it looks like you previously needed to opt in to get AMBER alerts. I don't remember opting in myself. Maybe it was attached to that last terms of service that I never read. The one that said all my calls and texts would now be recorded in perpetuity.

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KTRK

Absent during sweeps, bio missing from KTRK's site.

It's well-known that Channel 13's Wayne Dolcefino has long been hounding Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino, so many thought it singularly strange that Ted Oberg broke the story of the veteran lawman's indictment last week.

He was AWOL through October sweeps. Indeed, he has not been on the air for six or seven weeks at all.

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"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth or something I guess..."

-- Luke 13:28, A Copy Of The Bible I Swiped From A Hotel Room

Hello and welcome to Hair Balls' election night live blog and comment, where tonight I will be chronicling the mania of the 2012 presidential election. It's been a rough past year of mudslinging, yelling, confounding Facebook posts, children's puppets, and all around snark, and some voters didn't even get an "I Voted" sticker today.

Before we begin, be sure to get your drinks handy and have this here bingo card locked and loaded.

SEE ALSO: Take on Our Election Night Bingo Drinking Card if You a) Dare, b) Don't Drive Afterward

What channel should I be watching during this? What is the best cable news team to lead us through this evening? I mean, I probably shouldn't just be watching all of the Big Rich Texas on my DVR, right?

Is CNN cool, or is MSNBC the PC choice? Does C-SPAN still exist? I wish that the History Channel was carrying the election.

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The Houston Press has been sold to a new holding company -- Voice Media Group -- by its previous owner, Village Voice Media Holdings, it was announced today.

Christine Brennan, who for 19 years was executive managing editor at VVMH, will be the executive editor of the new company.

The new company, based in Denver, is buying only the 13 print and online publications as well as the national advertising arm of the company. Backpage.com, also now owned by VVMH, is not part of the buyout.

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Jeff Cohen steps down as editor of the Chron.

In an e-mailed message to the staff at the Houston Chronicle, and also announced online, Editor Jeff Cohen has announced he is stepping down as editor.

Cohen wrote that after ten years at the head of the daily, he will become Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, in charge of the publication's editorial and opinion pages.

Managing Editor Steve Proctor will head up the newsroom while a nationwide search is conducted for Cohen's successor, the Chron said.

Here's the message he sent out:

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