Houston News Blog

Photos by Pete Vonder Haar and Bryan Fotographer / Click here for a slideshow

​With all the attention focused on yesterday's annual Clash of the Performance Enhanced Titans in Miami, it was easy to overlook the other star-studded exhibition taking place in town. An event that, like the Super Bowl, boasted top-tier entertainment and a boisterous crowd while requiring little in the way of actual thought. I'm speaking, of course, about Governor Rick Perry's "Super Sunday with Sarah Palin" rally at the Berry Center in Cypress.

If I'm going to be charitable about it, I'd say the center was filled to slightly over half its 8,500-seat capacity. Most of the rear of the arena was empty, as was about three-quarters of the floor, which had been sectioned off for presumably more teeming masses. Speaking with some of those in attendance, it also became apparent that this number would have been dramatically lower without Palin's presence. Some folks had come from as far away as San Antonio and Austin to hear her speak.

I didn't ask how many were there to see Ted Nugent.

​Rick Perry fans, Alaska fans, fans of incredibly inexperienced cliche-spoutin' national politicians, they're all pumped for the big rally Saturday featuring the governor and Sarah Palin. And Ted Nugent, too, but that's just icing on the cuckoo cake.

Jes' how downhome is alla this speechifyin' a-goin' to be? We can take our cue from the e-mail sent out to people who reserved tickets, from the Perry campaign:

Speaking of dress this is a rally -- so jeans and boots casual, be comfortable.

Now due to the environment we all live in today. This is a private event. No trespassing is allowed, it is for Perry supporters. No signs, sticks, or glass bottles or cans allowed. Please bring your cameras, cell phones, and PDA's, your voices, your enthusiasm, your patience and your conservative spirit. This is going to be a liberty-lovin', freedom-singin', blow the doors down, good ole' fashioned rally. We are excited to see you this Sunday.

Man, they're droppin' Gs like a Wall Street banker at a hookers-and-blow party.

​Yesterday we noted that respected national publication Hotline had reported that Houston was one of four finalists for the 2012 GOP convention. Naturally, this caused much panic among  those people who aren't the kind to listen to Glenn Beck and nod their head saying "Damn, that man makes sense!!"

Houston, we are happy to report, we have NO problem. (See how we turned that cliche around?)

The Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau tells Hair Balls that the city has not even applied to be a host.

"We never turned in an RFP, so no one is quite sure how Houston's name ended up on the list." says GHCVB spokeswoman Lindsey Brown, referring to a "request for proposal" that, in the world of bureaucracy, is more or less code for an application.

An elephant stampede may be coming, and it will look like "Oliver's Army"

​Hotline is reporting that the Republican National Committee has picked four finalists for the 2012 GOP convention, and Houston is one of them.

We have to assume that they mean Houston, Texas, so be prepared to face horror.

The other finalists are Salt Lake City, Tampa and Phoenix, according to party sources who talked to Hotline.

Their analysis:

All 4 cities GOPers will consider bring upsides. Tampa and Phoenix sit in swing states, while TX has an exploding Hispanic population -- a demographic GOPers are keen to attract after they appear to be slipping toward Dems.

We attended the 1992 GOP convention in the Astrodome, and we are still scarred. The fawning coverage, the avalanche of rich white people trying not to mingle with crazy-conservative white people, the stage set that looked like a Roman temple: The only good thing that came out of it was Molly Ivins' quip that Pat Buchanan's wack speech probably "sounded better in the original German."

Photo by Daniel Kramer

​Hair Balls had a sit-down yesterday with Mayor Annise Parker -- come on, it's already one month into her term and there's still traffic at rush hour!!!!

A lot of the talk was dedicated to future items we're working on here at the Press, but there were some other scattered stuff discussed:

On the international media reaction to her election:
In the first three days after the election, it was constant -- we couldn't get anything else done...I was frankly surprised. I have been an activist for a long time, I think it's important the GLBT people get elected to office, I've worked for other candidates and promoted it, but I didn't expect the level of international media attention.

Outside of Houston, people don't understand the city and what makes it tick and it gave me the opportunity to pivot and talk about Houston, which is a good thing.

The other thing is if you look at so-called quote-unquote "gay votes," primarily the marriage initiative, around the country, we keep on racking up losses and there were a lot of votes who saw my election as being against that tide.

​James O'Keefe became a right-wing icon when he exposed some idiots at ACORN via undercover video. (No telling how many ACORN offices he visited with his schtick before he found a victim, of course.)

His hero image was tarnished a bit last week when he was arrested for entering the offices of Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana in order to mess with her phones, no doubt for some hilarious investigation.

O'Keefe has admitted he messed up (His "On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building" gets the No Shit, Sherlock Award of the Day.)

Still, most of his right-wing fans are running for the hills to distance themselves from him. But let us not forget those who praised him lavishly, like Sugar Land congressman Pete Olson.

​Some Texas cancer patients and their physicians are up in arms over a regional Medicare contractor's denial of coverage for a non-invasive radiation therapy conducted via a device with the William Gibson-esque moniker "CyberKnife."

Trailblazer Health, the Medicare contractor for Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico, says there simply hasn't been enough testing to determine CyberKnife's efficacy. But, at the behest of some CyberKnife supporters, U.S. Representative Charles Gonzalez this morning toured a cancer treatment center in San Antonio where the CyberKnife is used.

A spokeswoman for Gonzalez told Hair Balls that Gonzalez wanted to make sure that cancer patients had access to various treatments. She also gave us information provided by CyberKnife's manufacturer, the California-based Accuray, about CyberKnife's high success rates. And a spokeswoman for Accuray told us that Medicare contractors in more than 30 states cover CyberKnife procedures.

Well, clearly, Trailblazer Health has to be evil, right? Why else would a Congressman appear alongside cancer patients and furnish a statement to Accuray's PR firm that "Denial of coverage for one of the most advanced treatments for prostate cancer is hard to understand, especially when one considers it has been used to successfully treat 70,000 patients nationwide"? We can only assume that, in order to issue such a statement, Gonzalez pored over peer-reviewed publications and interviewed oncologists across the country.

Jesus, getting ready to knock that Cat 5 back into the Gulf

​We know that Pat Robertson thinks you can pray away a hurricane. And KHOU's Neil Frank told a Christian website that he thinks it's possible, too. (Click here, second item.)

Now Harris County commissioner Steve Radack is apparently on the "No Science Allowed" bandwagon.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Radack went on a bit of a tear earlier this week in discussions about the Ike Dike, the proposed barrier that would, if it worked, limit the effects of storm surge.

Radack thinks the Dike will just be something that's studied to death and likely never built, which is a perfectly reasonable and probably correct analysis.

Then, according to the Chron, he added this:

​Senator John Cornyn is famous for a lot of things, and not just fightin' heathens and hellions and all kinds of crime.

But just when you thought he had exhausted his skill set, a new superpower emerges. Now, it turns out, Cornyn can see into the future.

The Senator sent out a statement analyzing President Obama's State of the Union speech yesterday (shockingly, he was underwhelmed).

Cornyn said the speech was "clearly well delivered."

Only problem was, Cornyn issued the statement before Obama gave the speech.

Politico's Ben Smith noted Cornyn's "prescience."

Photo by Justine Schmider

The collision that killed Leigh Boone

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Much of Montrose was rocked last year when Leigh Boone, a 29-year-old vivacious executive assistant at the Houston Center for Photography, was killed when two fire trucks racing to a false alarm collided.

Boone was on the sidewalk, seemingly safe, but suffered fatal head injuries.

The city approved a $225,000 settlement with Boone's family today. It may not sound like much, but Texas law limits the amount that the city could be forced to pay to $250,000.

Donald Kidd, the family's attorney, tells Hair Balls that other results of the lawsuit are as important as the money. The fire department has changed, he said, a tradition of responding to fire calls in ways that endanger the public.

"The written polices of the department are good," he says, "but the unwritten -- where there is competition amongst stations to be the first at the scene, puts citizens in jeopardy. It was that type of high school football mentality that needed to be addressed, and the only way the family could do that was though this claim."

​KTRK's Miya Shay reported an interesting development in the never-ending quest to build a stadium for the Houston Dynamo -- the team is considering an offer to build it near the Galleria, instead of the east side of downtown.

The idea surfaced at yesterday's Commissioner Court meeting, and Dynamo president Oliver Luck says the team has been in discussions with the developer who owns the property south of 59, outside the Loop near Westpark.

We've got a call in to Luck, but the whole question of a Dynamo stadium still is far from settled, according to County Judge Ed Emmett's office.

The team is offering to put in $60 million towards the east-side stadium; the city and county must pitch in $10 million apiece. Former mayor Bill White agreed to do so, but Joe Stinebaker of Emmett's office tells Hair Balls the county isn't rushing to follow.

We all need a laugh in these desperate times, so we suggest you head over pronto to the website of megacurch Second Baptist.

Head over there, that is, if you want to see a pallid Uncle Sam ensconced in a modern-day hospital bed. He's in his full official regalia, which is a little odd, but maybe the hospital doesn't offer red, white and blue dressing gowns. At least he's not wearing his top hat.

Hooked up to various machines, things look grim -- until a miracle happens. There's something on the TV that catches Sam's attention, and he raises the bed -- yes, Uncle Sam knows how to use a remote-control bed adjuster, in case you were wondering -- to get a better look.

And there on the tube is Ed Young of Second Baptist, delivering the sermon linked above.

Governor Rick Perry spent the weekend holding a summit for conservative bloggers and social-media types. It included a trip to the gun range, because Rick Perry is a Texan, dammit, and you'll pry his firearms from his cold, dead etc. etc.

We know bupkis about guns, but the Come and Get It blog notes that in the above video, Perry sure seems to be waving around a presumably loaded pistol pretty casually.

There's a longer video on Pajamas TV, including one blogger saying "We have the coolest governor ever" and Perry letting everyone know that the ladies always shoot best, who'da thunk it.

The pressure is now on Kay Bailey Hutchison to top this. We can only suggest she takes bloggers to go after The Most Dangerous Game.

​Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison rolled out the big guns today as President George H.W. Bush endorsed her. Coming on the heels of the recent endorsement of former Secretary of State James Baker, Hutchison has ably demonstrated what it takes to win the GOP gubernatorial primary. If it were being run in 1990.

The frothing, anti-Beltway rage of the teabaggers -- the only people who will be motivated enough to vote in this thing -- is unlikely to be assuaged by endorsements from the elderly remnants of the former GOP establishment.

Republican primary voters this time around will be taking their cues from Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. People who still don't entirely dismiss the whole Obama birth certificate thing won't be impressed with Bush & Baker.

But Hutchison thinks Bush's endorsement will carry weight. We haven't seen such tone-deafness since...well, this week, when in the midst of the Haiti suffering Hannity kept yammering on how the GOP upset in Massachusetts was "an earthquake."

​The word went forth at 9:30 this morning. Christina Garza, spokesperson for Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, e-mailed reporters to tell them of a new development.

"Sheriff Announces Employee Bill of Rights," read the e-mail header.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia has developed an Employee Bill of Rights for his agency after extensive talks with employee groups, supervisors, County Attorney Vince Ryan's staff and the Houston Police Department (HPD). The Bill of Rights encodes new policies aimed at guaranteeing fairness and consistency in the investigation of performance complaints against employees as well as in how punishment is meted out for proven infractions.

Glorious day!! Rejoice, employees!!!

Not so fast.

Photo courtesy Rick Perry campaign

​Start droppin' yer Gs now!! Sarah Palin is a-headed to town, with a bucketfull of common-sense talk for all them hot-air artists up in Washington!!!

Rick Perry's campaign announced today that Palin will appear with the governor in "the Houston area" February 7.

"I look forward to standing with Sarah to promote our shared conservative values of limited government, low taxes and individual freedom," Perry wqas quoted as saying on the campaign's blog. "Gov. Palin is a true conservative leader whose priorities and message resonate with Texans, and I am honored to have her in Texas supporting my campaign."

On her Facebook page, Palin likened Perry to Minnesota wingnut Michele Bachmann, which we initially thought was a slam but on further consideration we believe it to represent a compliment in some strange cultures.

​The announcement came earlier today that the chief of the Houston Fire Department, Phil Boriskie, is resigning his post because of "my desire to return to the station and continue to serve in this great Department," according to his written statement.

Boriskie's sudden desire to return to the station, however, happened surprisingly soon after another unfortunate situation involving Jane Draycott, one of the women firefighters who made allegations of finding racist and sexist graffiti scrawled on their lockers at a fire station during the summer of last year.

According to Joseph Ahmad, an attorney who has represented the firefighter since she found the graffiti, Draycott returned to work last week -- the first time she's been back since summer -- where she was met by Boriskie and other firefighters.

"She went back expecting to do her job again," Ahmad tells Hair Balls. "She expected that there would be some type of meeting where the firefighters were going to be told that, 'Hey, Jane's coming back to work.'"

But after roll call was finished at the station, a firefighter stood up and read a letter that basically said "we don't trust you, we don't like you, we don't want you here," according to Ahmad. He added that there were other "harmful and hurtful" things said by other firefighters.

"The chief indicated that he didn't know [about the letter]," Ahmad says. "If that's the case, it seems to me that it's unfortunate that a firefighter would pull a stunt like that in front of his own fire chief and put his fire chief in that position."

Photos by Paul Knight

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The enormous crowd in the parking lot of the Catholic Charismatic Center, just south of downtown, began to thin out at about noon as people headed for the streets, or school buses, to make their way across I-45 to protest the opening of a Planned Parenthood clinic (it hasn't opened yet), a place some pro-lifers call an abortion supercenter.

A surprisingly large number of young people were at the protest, and Hair Balls approached a group of teens standing in line for a bus, to ask them why they were spending a day protesting abortion.

"It's what we believe in," said a teenager who had driven in from The Woodlands. He didn't want his name printed or his picture taken. "I'm going to stand up for what I believe in."

Another teen, who said his name was Ken (pictured at the top of this post), added, "If you don't, what's the point of believing in something? It's basically making it legal to murder."

The Planned Parenthood clinic that sparked the protest is set to open this spring, and the new building will more than double the size of the current facility at 3601 Fannin St., making it the largest Planned Parenthood building in the country. The clinic plans to perform about 20 abortions a week.

About an hour after the protesters started marching to the site, not many had made it.

​In a genuine and generous humanitarian effort, Houston City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson of District B will deliver "800 pair of shoes for Haitian Relief efforts to the Haitian Multicultural Association" in Southwest Houston.

In a statement released by Johnson, he claims:

At this moment, thousands of our neighbors in Haiti are without shelter, searching for family and friends, and dealing with the emotional pains of a natural disaster. They are in great need of our assistance. Any gesture of kindness will go a long way toward rebuilding the lives of the people of Haiti. I will continue to work with fellow Houstonians in the coming weeks in efforts to assist Haiti.

Although this may seem like a compassionate and practical means of helping out, Johnson should reflect in the way he is attempting to help.

Houstonians should step up to the plate as Johnson proclaims ... but it should be done monetarily. Sending tangible items like shoes or, as Johnson states, "any gesture of kindness" is the last thing people should be doing to a region devastated by a natural disaster.

Photo courtesy Texas Freedom Network

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Photo courtesy White House Flickr Group

​Ever leave an extremely personal voicemail for someone, only to have what you thought was a private message broadcast to complete strangers -- or even worse, your friends? You know, maybe something about a burning sensation when you pee, or that you think Jack Black is actually funny? We could understand how the public broadcast of such things might be embarassing, but Hair Balls can't understand the White House's problem with a simple mazel tov Barack Obama left for Mayor Annise Parker being leaked to YouTube.

Parker told Sirius/XM radio host Michelangelo Signorile this week that "I got a curt call from someone in the White House wanting to know how the president's voicemail got up on YouTube." When she told the shady official she had no idea, Parker said, he replied with "Well, when the president leaves a private communication, it should stay private."

We just wonder where Voicemail-gate ranks on the administration's list of priorities -- if it's maybe two notches above figuring out how a dude got on a plane with a bomb in his jockeys and just below scheduling another trip to Copenhagen.

And, really, the Prez didn't say anything objectionable on the recording -- it's not like he called up Parker to remind her that he is in fact not her bitch, and that it is her responsibility to purchase her own french fries.

​Governor Rick Perry, in a valiant bid to be talked about approvingly on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh's show, came to Houston today to announce he will be rejecting $700 million in federal stimulus funds for education.

Because, you know, Texas has the whole education thing covered.

"Texas is on the right path toward improved education, and we would be foolish and irresponsible to place our children's future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and special interest groups thousands of miles away in Washington, virtually eliminating parents' participation in their children's education," Perry said.. "If Washington were truly concerned about funding education with solutions that match local challenges, they would make the money available to states with no strings attached."

Take that, all you radicals spouting all that hot air up in Washington!!!

​Remember Dave Wilson? The guy who got his 15 minutes of fame days before the runoff election right here in Houston? You know -- the guy who owns a print company and has a lot of time on his hands so he decided to wage war against Mayor Annise Parker's campaign. Wilson ended up sending around 35,000 print mailers to prospective voters reminding them that Parker was gay.

Wilson is like the "Energizer Bunny" that seems to keep going and going and his latest scheme involves Harris County Precinct 4. Although a Republican with no blue blood in him, Wilson decided to file as a Democrat in order to challenge the scandal-ridden Republican Jerry Eversole at the last minute, literally.

In case you are not familiar with the duties of the Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner, allow Eversole's explanation to sink in.

As your Precinct 4 commissioner, I represent the interests of 904,163 residents and manage an operating budget of $80.9 million. Responsible for the largest Harris County commissioner's precinct, I oversee the maintenance and construction of 2,992.64 miles of roads, which is approximately 45.5 percent of the total Harris County road miles. Precinct 4 also has 9.7 miles of bridges, which is 41 percent of all bridge miles in Harris County.

Translation: I make it rain, bitches!

Photo by Squid

​Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care fired a veterinarian Thursday, but Interim Bureau Chief Gerry Fusco said two part-time vets will cover those hours so there will be no lag in services.

Fusco and Janice Evans, communications director for Mayor Annise Parker, said they could not by law comment on the reasons for Claudia Orso-Sims's termination.(Orso-Sims would not even verify with Hair Balls today that she was fired; she said only that she no longer works for the city. She declined further comment.)

Fusco said two "excellent clinical veterinarians," Erin O'Toole and Kristina Lem, are covering Orso-Sims's vacancy. He also said BARC added an "exceptional veterinary tech," Sherry Stephens, to the veterinary staff Thursday. (The city is meanwhile advertising for a full-time vet).

 

​The United States Congressional District 18 race just got a bit more exciting after Jarvis Johnson, the District B Houston City Councilmember, officially filed on Monday at Harris County Democratic Party Headquarters. Not to be outdone, Attorney Sean A. Roberts also decided to jump into the race against incumbent Democrat U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

The term-limited Johnson took the oath of office earlier that day for his third and final term as a city council member. He is jumping into a race with nothing to lose since he does not have to step down from his position in order to challenge Jackson Lee in the March primary.

Johnson said "We're going to have a frank discussion on who's capable of bringing and creating good-paying jobs for the people of the district." He went on to cite "dismal unemployment and school dropout rates" as some issues he believes Jackson Lee has failed to address as a member of Congress since 1994.

Johnson is counting on winning and claimed that "95 percent of B is in 18" to Martha Griffin. Although that statistic may be debatable, it is no secret that the One-Eight is predominately African-American at 40 percent and is one of the bluest districts in the good old red state of Texas.

While Johnson may attempt to tap into the "change" and "outsider" meme in this race, it will fall on deaf ears if Sean Roberts is capable of becoming a viable option.

​Good news if you were wrongfully imprisoned by the state of Texas for a long, long time, but you then died before you could be pardoned -- and face it, in those circumstances you could use some good news -- state attorney general Greg Abbott ruled today that you can be pardoned posthumously!!

Yay?

Abbott issued an opinion on the matter sought by Houston State Senator Rodney Ellis. Ellis was asking on behalf of Tim Cole, a Brenham man exonerated last year by DNA evidence for a rape he was convicted for in 1985 solely on the basis of the testimony of one eyewitness - the victim of the rape. Cole died in 1999.

Abbott's opinion said:

The Texas Constitution does not expressly address or limit the Governor's authority to grant a posthumous pardon. While a prior attorney general opinion concluded he could not grant a posthumous pardon due to the recipient's inability to accept it, modern United States Supreme Court decisions reject the common-law acceptance requirement that formed the basis of that opinion and the underlying Texas authorities.

Theater-goers at the Hobby Center for last night's performance of A Chorus Line got an added bonus when right at 8 p.m. in walked President George Bush (the first) and his wife, Barbara, acoompanied by a small entourage.
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Whispers swept through the crowd as audience members made sure of what they were seeing. Once group consensus was reached, three things happened almost simultaneously: nearly all the audience arose to give the Bushes a standing ovation (good sports, they turned around and waved), cell phones were whipped out, and the ushers began springing around the room telling people to turn them off (no photos allowed at the Hobby during performances).

The show began at 8:05, ran for the next two hours with no intermissions, and a good time was had by all.

(Editor's note: We all know how much the Bushes like A Chorus Line.)

​Planned Parenthood of Houston is moving into that office building on I-45near UH that looks like a cash register, and it looks like the protests will follow them.

The Drudge Report is linking to a right-wing news service's story decrying the new building as an "abortion supercenter." Big protests are planned January 18, the story says.

Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions.

"It's an abortion super center," Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience, which is organizing the rally, told CNSNews.com.

Joining Engle at the "prayer march" will be Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Religious leaders expected to attend include Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Star Parker, president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education; and Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic.

An "abortion super center"? Does it offer a lot of hors d'oeuvres in the aisles? Are the prices cheaper because you're buying bulk?

​Mayor Annise Parker concluded her first City Council meeting this morning with a bang, warning citizens about icy roads in days ahead as Houston braces for what's expected to be its coldest temperatures in decades.

"We're covering our pipes, doing what we can to keep ice away from our entrances," Parker said. "If you do encounter ice on the road and start to skid, don't push on the brakes, because that can further the skid."

Okay, so no real fireworks. It was actually quite dull. In fact, Parker at times seemed ready to wrap up the meeting, cheering other council members who didn't talk. For example, shortly before the meeting ended, Councilwoman Jolanda Jones entered the chambers and made her way to her seat. It was during the council comment portion of the meeting, and Parker prompted Jones to speak.

"Pass," Jones said.

"Woo-hoo," Parker responded. "Let's see some more of that."

Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck, during her speaking time, informed the crowd that council comments were required by law and a necessary part of the Open Meetings Act. Clutterbuck then went on to praise a century-old fraternity.

This photo blew up on lefty web sites yesterday. Luckily, most happened to mention that the guy was from Houston!!

He's Dale Robertson of teaparty.org. We hope we don't need to mention that he's not Dale Robertson, the Houston Chronicle sportswriter.

The photo was taken at a Houston event last year; organizers say they kicked Robertson off the grounds because of it.

In case you're wondering, though, he's still out there giving radio interviews, as the teaparty.org website shows. Whether he's taking spelling lessons, we're not sure.

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