Today is the 38th anniversary of Charles Whitman’s infamous sniper assault on the area around the University of Texas campus in Austin.

At its irreverent best, this Houston Press article takes Landry’s CEO Tilman Fertitta and Houston mayor Bill White to task for the sweetheart deal that Mr. Fertitta cut in regard to his company’s downtown Houston Aquarium restaurant:

Houston city officials, apparently outraged at how they had fallen behind Galveston and Kemah in the heated race to service every little whim of restaurant-and-real-estate mogul Tilman Fertitta, took bold action a few years ago.
They gave Fertitta a sweetheart lease to the old downtown fire station and central waterworks plant — even in the year 2040, he’ll still be paying rent of only $12,500 a month for the prime location.
In its rush to bend over for Tilman, the city vacated the space even though it didn’t have a replacement site lined up for the fire station. Houston is currently paying more than $24,500 a month to lease an admittedly inadequate building on Milam.

All this allowed Fertitta in February 2003 to open the Aquarium restaurant, which features outrageously overpriced train rides, Ferris wheels and — he hopes — tigers. (Because nothing says “aquarium” like tigers.) Food is also served, apparently.

Apparently, other than paying below market rent to the City, one of the only requirements that Landry’s has under the deal with the City is to file an annual report explaining how the restaurant is doing and what the city is getting for its investment. But, according to the Press, there is one problem:

Fertitta can’t be bothered to do it.
The first report was due June 1, says Pete Radowick, spokesman for the city’s Convention and Entertainment Facilities. In the eight weeks since then, he says, the city has contacted Fertitta and asked if he would please file the thing. (For some reason, imagining this conversation brings to mind the Cowardly Lion approaching the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.)

The Press story even speculates as to the reason for the delay in the filing of the report:

Fertitta and his wife both gave $2,500 to Mayor Bill White this March; perhaps the paperwork involved in writing out those checks has delayed his filing the Aquarium report. Or maybe he’s just too busy with his tiger project.

Landry’s response to the Press’ inquiriies on the matter?:

Fertitta’s office, by the way, referred us to a PR agency that didn’t return phone calls.

Ouch!

Well-known bankruptcy litigation specialist Jeff Bohm of Austin has been appointed as the new bankruptcy judge for the the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Jeff replaces William Greendyke, who resigned effective June 1 to join Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski.
I have known Jeff for a long time and been involved in several cases with him over the years. He is an outstanding lawyer and will make a fine bankruptcy judge. Although Jeff has been practicing for 20 years and has been a partner at Austin-based McGinniss, Lochridge for 15 years, Jeff’s background is interesting in that he did not go directly to law school after undergraduate school. Rather, he chose to work for several years for a large bank in Houston in a variety of positions. I believe that this background is a part of the reason why Jeff has an unusual depth of perspective regarding financial and insolvency-related disputes, and also why he developed a resolution-oriented style of lawyering in his practice (I have found that lawyers who were formerly clients tend to prefer this style). Although an effective litigator, Jeff has always had a refreshing knack for resolving legal disputes in the most efficient and reasonable manner possible under the circumstances.
Jeff joins what has become a powerhouse group of bankruptcy judges in the Southern District of Texas. As noted earlier here, outstanding Houston bankruptcy lawyer Marvin Isgur joined chief Bankruptcy Judge Karen Brown and Bankruptcy Judges Wesley Steen and Letitia Clark on the Houston bankruptcy bench earlier this year. With the additions of Judges Isgur and Bohm, the Houston bankruptcy judges are one of the strongest groups of bankruptcy judges in any one federal district in the country.

And it’s in The Woodlands, no less!

A Harris County grand jury indicted former Houston Rockets basketball star and Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy today on six counts of sexual abuse centering on allegations that he molested his five daughters when they were under the age of 14. Previous posts on this rather knarly matter may be reviewed here.
Inasmuch as Murphy has already pleaded not guilty to the charges that were filed in March. The grand jury indictment is a formality. However, it does signal that this case will likely not be settled and will be tried. The prolific Murphy has fathered 14 children by nine women.
Murphy remains free on $20,000 bail. If convicted, he could receive five years to life in prison for the aggravated offenses and two to 20 years for the indecency violations. Because he has no criminal history, Murphy would also be eligible for probation.

The incredible murder case involving Robert Durst finally took an expected turn on Wednesday as the 14th Court of Appeals struck down state district Judge Susan Criss’ absurdly high $3 billion bond as a condition for Durst’s release pending his trial on evidence tampering and bail-jumping charges. The appellate court directed Judge Criss to conduct another hearing soon to reconsider the amount of the bond and provided guidelines for what it considered to be a reasonable amount of the bond.
Based on the outcome of Durst’s murder trial, if Durst’s attorney Dick DeGeurin could only get a jury trial on the issue of the amount of the bond, he might get Durst released on personal recognizance.

Long-time Houston Bankruptcy Judge William Greendyke resigned effective June 1st to become a member of the Bankruptcy, Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights section of Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski.
Judge Greendyke was appointed to one of the five Houston bankruptcy judgeships in the early 1990’s, and quickly became one of the best and most-admired judges on the federal bench. Hard-working, smart, organized, courteous, and good-humored, Judge Greendyke consistently rated as one of the top judges in Houston in the annual Houston Bar Association judicical evaluation poll. Although he will be sorely missed on the bankruptcy bench, the Houston bankruptcy bar is gaining an esteemed new member.
Former Dallas Bankruptcy Judge Robert C. McGuire will replace Judge Greendyke on a temporary basis for the first few months until a permanent replacement can be named. It is also rumored that Bankruptcy Judge Gerald Schiff from the Western District of Louisiana will be taking on some of Judge Greendyke’s docket until a replacement judge is appointed.

Alexander Phillips (“Phil”) Peden (prounounced “Pay-don”) died on Sunday at the age of 87. The Chronicle obituary is here.
Judge Peden — a life-long Houstonian — was a well-known and respected judge for over 33 years in various courts in Harris County. He first served as Judge of the county court at law, then as a state District Judge, and then as a Justice on the First Court of Appeals for 14 years. After retiring from the state bench, Judge Peden served as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge for 3 years during the mid-1980’s when a depression in the Houston business community created a huge spike in the number of business and personal bankruptcies. After retiring from the bankruptcy bench, Judge Peden served as a mediator in numerous private litigation matters.
Visitation will be Tuesday, June 1, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, and a memorial service for Judge Peden will be held Wednesday, June 2, at 4:00 p.m. at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.
Here is an updated Chronicle story on Judge Peden.

If you have any intention whatsoever to drive this weekend anywhere close to the Katy Freeway – West Loop interchange, you need to reconsider.
As a part of the ongoing Katy Freeway expansion project, the Highway Department will close the Katy freeway near the West Loop interchange from 9 p.m. tonight through 9 p.m. Saturday for eastbound lanes and from 9 p.m. tonight to 5 a.m. Monday for the westbound lanes so that workers can demolish a portion of the North Post Oak Road bridge. As a result, drivers will face detours via side streets and frontage roads with traffic jams likely to snarl near west Houston and the Galleria area all weekend.
If you absolutely must drive in this part of town over the weekend, I recommend highly that you bring a good book to read while you sit in traffic.

State District Judge Joseph “Tad” Halbach, Jr was hospitalized at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital in the Medical Center on Friday morning after suffering chest pains in his courtroom. Judge Halbach, 47, was undergoing tests this afternoon to determine the cause of the chest pains.