Monthly Archives: October 2007

Mayor White’s L.A. moment

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Bissonet%20high%20rise.jpgHouston Mayor Bill White is capriciously manipulating local governmental power to sidetrack development of a condominium project (nicknamed the “Ashby high-rise”) in a neighborhood where he raises a substantial political campaign funds. The incident has received some national attention through this Wall Street Journal ($) article, which somehow suggests that Houston’s phenomenal growth over the past 50 years has been in spite of — rather than because of — the city’s lack of zoning and liberal land use policies.
At any rate, it’s really a sad reflection of the state of political discourse in Houston that the Mayor has been given a pass on undermining a project for the benefit of his campaign war chest. The property was valued and sold to the present owners on the assumption that a large-scale redevelopment would be built there and the owners followed all the city’s rules and regulations in obtaining the necessary permits to proceed with construction. When a few wealthy neighbors of the development pulled Mayor White’s chain, he blithely ordered one of the city’s approvals to be revised to delay the development and now is attempting to ramrod two ordinances through city council to stop the project altogether.
In short, the developers invested a substantial amount of money in buying the property and followed the laws in preparing the large-scale redevelopment, dozens of which dot Houston’s landscape. Mayor White and his friends don’t like the development, so White is changing the laws. And this is political leadership?
At any rate, all of this reminded me of this excellent Virginia Postrel/Atlantic.com article that compares the radically different land use policies of Los Angeles, on one hand, and Dallas (which are quite similar to Houston’s), on the other. Suffice it to say that the likes of Mayor White favor the Los Angeles approach over that of Dallas and Houston. Think about that the next time you vote for mayor.
Update: The website for the group opposing the project is here. A copy of the proposed “emergency” ordinance is here.
Update 2: A recent West U Examiner article on the project is here.

“A rusted-out battleship in a spruced up port”

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astrodome%20103107.jpgAmazingly, the silly notion that it might be economically feasible to convert the Astrodome into a Gaylord Texan-type convention hotel has been making the local rounds for over three years now.
Maybe the combination of the Texans and the Rodeo coming out against the proposal will finally put the nonsense to rest. As the Chron article notes, even County Judge Ed Emmett is skeptical about the merits of the proposal:

County Judge Ed Emmett signaled in September that he isn’t convinced the project is viable. While attending the Texans’ home opener in September, he said the Astrodome struck him as an aging, rusted-out battleship that remains in a spruced-up port.

It occurs to me that the Astrodome hotel promoters decision to obtain a financing commitment for the project before getting the consent of the Reliant Park tenants to the project put a very large cart before the horse. Sort of like Oilers’ owner Bud Adams unveiling a model of a proposed new downtown football/basketball stadium back in the mid-1990’s without telling Rockets owner Les Alexander and Mayor Bob Lanier about it first. And we all know what happened after that imbroglio.
All of these machinations over what to do with the Dome would be relatively harmless except for the fact that the Dome continues to “eat” — that is, it costs Harris County a hefty sum (probably at least $3 million or so annually) just to mothball the Dome. Hopefully, the opposition of the main tenants at Reliant Park to the hotel redevelopment plan will finally lead to the Dome property being used for the best land use, which is probably parking. That’s not as sexy as a big hotel, but it provides something that is actually needed and will generate some revenue.
By the way, a good sign that a project is almost kaput is that its supporters become delusional. According to the Chron article, that’s already happening to certain promoters of the Astrodome hotel project:

Willie Loston, director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., said the county attorney’s office is researching whether the county could approve the project over the objections of the Texans and the rodeo if the sports corporation determined the development would not hurt their operations.

The booming Texas Triangle

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tgv_triangle_medres.jpgClear Thinkers favorite Tory Gattis does the calculations and concludes in this post that the Texas Triangle Megalopolis — the area between Houston on the southeast edge to Dallas-Ft Worth on the northern tip down through Austin and to San Antoinio on the southwest edge — is the 10th largest economic mega-region in the world (and fifth largest in the U.S.) with $700 billion in GDP (based on 2000 numbers).

Coach Fran’s nightmare worsens?

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Coach%20Fran.jpgJust when it seemed as if Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione’s season couldn’t get much worse, it looks as if it just might.
As noted in previous posts over the past two years here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, Coach Fran’s tenure at A&M has been on the thinnest of ice for quite some time. The latest thud in Coach Fran’s reign in Aggieland was the thorough trouncing that the Kansas Jayhawks laid on A&M this past Saturday night in front of 85,000 demoralized Aggie faithful.
stoops.jpegBut that game against Kansas may look positively pleasant in comparison to what faces the Aggies next Saturday night on ABC — playing the sixth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.
Now, playing OU in Norman is never a picnic. But the subplot to this particular game is that Coach Fran inexplicably gave OU extra motivation with a preseason jab against the Sooners. In speaking to the Houston Touchdown Club in early August, Franchione said he wasnít sure who would be the Soonersí starting quarterback, but “that may be the only question mark they have . . . other than what jobs they are going to work this year. That is a joke. I couldnít resist.” Coach Fran was making light of OUís recent NCAA violations involving players receiving unearned compensation from a Norman automobile dealership.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops — who already strikes fear in at least one other Texas big-time college football coach — was asked yesterday during the Big 12 weekly coaches’ news conference if he plans to remind his players this week about Coach Fran’s preseason comments:

“We donít need to do that,î Stoops said.

Yeah. Right.
Franchione is 0-5 all-time against Stoops-coached teams (four of which have been while at A&M), including the worst lost in A&M history, a 77-0 debacle in 2003.
Things could get very ugly on Saturday night in Norman.

“A glorified club championship?”

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PGATOURLogo.pngThe first run of the PGA Tour’s Fed Ex Cup did not exactly transfix golf fans. However, this Bob Harig/ESPN.com article makes the Fed Ex Cup look like the Masters in comparison to the PGA Tour’s initial Fall Series:

Dubbed the Fall Series, the final seven events on the PGA Tour schedule will mercifully come to an end next week in Orlando, where the biggest stories will revolve around players losing their full-time status (despite making $700,000 this year) or secure veterans who try to fit in golf around visits to the Disney theme parks.
“There were 100 people following the final group last Sunday in Scottsdale,” said PGA Tour veteran Steve Flesch. “It’s like a glorified club championship. I don’t think that’s what the tour intended. And I think they need to address it.”

Ah, the ever-widening Tiger chasm.

The Brits get it

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nfl%20London.gifThe New York Giants beat the winless Miami Dolphins in London on Sunday in the National Football League’s first regular season game played outside the United States. And based on this Tom Lutz/Guardian Unlimited op-ed on the game, it looks as if the English sports reporters are already catching on to the style of their American brethren:

“Some Dolphins fans have complained that they’ve been deprived of a home game, but judging by their team’s inept performance, the NFL has done them a favour.”

2007 Weekly local football review

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Schaub%20injured.jpg(AP photo by Mark J. Terrill/prior weekly reviews are here)
Chargers 35 Texans 10

No change from last week’s analysis in regard to the Texans (3-5), including continued fawning local mainstream media treatment of Coach Kubiak (well, perhaps a little less fawning). The game was not as close as hte score indicates. By the way, would somebody arrange a reception so that the Texans’ secondary could be introduced to Chargers TE Antonio Gates? The Texans play at Oakland (2-5) next Sunday before a badly-needed bye week. It is becoming increasingly clear with each passing week that Coach Kubiak has some difficult personnel decisions to make, both with regard to the players and assistant coaches. The Texans were a poorly-prepared football team for the second week in a row.

Kansas 19 Texas Aggies 11

The Coach Fran Death March continues as the Aggies (6-3/3-2) were dominated in this one by Kansas, which managed to keep the score closer than it should have by missing three makeable field goals and having a TD run called back by a penalty. At least Aggie angst over the situation has mellowed to the point where it is producing hugely entertaining YouTube videos. The Aggies are looking forward to next week’s ABC-televised Saturday night game at Oklahoma (7-1/3-1) about as much as hemorrhoid surgery.

Texas Longhorns 28 Nebraska 25

Through three quarters of this game, the Horns (7-2/3-2) were looking to be embarrassed by the undermanned Cornhuskers (4-5/1-4). Then, Longhorn RB Jamaal Charles went Anthony Alridge on Nebraska during the 4th quarter. Charles ended up with 290 yards rushing on 33 carries in the game, including 216 yards and 3 TD runs (25, 86 and 40 yards) in the 4th quarter alone (key tip to Nebraska defense — blitzs can backfire on running plays, too). The Horns travel to Stillwater next Saturday to face the suddnely famous Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-3/3-1) before finishing up the regular season against Texas Tech (6-3/2-3) in Austin and A&M at College Station.

Houston Cougars 34 UTEP 31

Ho-hum, another game, another double-digit deficit, another 520 yard offensive performance, and another comeback win. The increasingly red-hot Coogs (5-3/3-1) were led by star RB Anthony Alridge (204 yards on a career-high 27 carries) and redshirt freshman QB, Case Keenum (13/20 passing for 116 yds/ 72 yds rushing on 10 carries). The Coogs host SMU (1-7/0-4) next Sunday night in a televised game and then head to Tulsa (5-3/3-2) for the game that will probably determine the C-USA Western Division champion.

Marshall 34 Rice 21

Key tip of the week to the Owls (1-7/1-3) — it’s hard to come back from a 24 point deficit, even to previously winless Marshall (1-7/1-3). The Owls host UTEP (4-4/2-2) next Saturday.

A special Houstonian

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Craig%20Biggio%20102907.jpgI criticized Craig Biggio for the way in which he ended his playing career with the Stros, but I have never questioned that he and Jeff Bagwell are the best players ever to have played for the Stros.
Bidg is also a wonderful ambassador for Houston, his adopted hometown. Over the weekend, Chevrolet named Bidg the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his tireless work on behalf of the Sunshine Kids.
It is a well-deserved honor for a very special Houstonian. Congratulations on a job well done.

Ben Stein’s nightmare multiplies

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Ben%20Stein%20102907.jpgThis post from last week noted how Felix Salmon had become NY Times business columnist Ben Stein’s worst nightmare, sort of how Larry Ribstein had been to Steins’ fellow columnist, Gretchen Morgenson.
Now, Stein’s nightmare is multiplying exponentially. On the heels of Stein’s latest Sunday Times column, Salmon, Yves Smith, and Dean Baker have already pointed out the vacuity of Stein’s analysis.
Do the Times business editors even notice that Stein has become a laughing stock?

O’Neal walking the plank

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Merrill%20Lynch.jpgMerrill Lynch’s announcement this past week of a third-quarter loss of $2.3 billion and a $8.4 billion charge for failed credit and mortgage-related investments generated a large number of comments from around the blogosphere on the future of Merrill’s CEO, E. Stanley O’Neal, none of which were better than this one from The Epicurean Dealmaker:

I cannot speculate what will happen next at Mother Merrill, but I can guarantee you O’Neal’s days at the helm are numbered. Being a CEO at an investment bank is not unlike crowd surfing at a mosh pit: it’s a pretty cool way to move around quickly, you are supported entirely by other peoples’ efforts, and everyone tries to get a piece of you. Unfortunately, when the crowd loses interest in supporting you, you tend to fall fast, hard, and painfully. In addition, after dropping you lots of your former investment banking subordinatesóboth friend and foeóhave the added charming tendency to skewer you repeatedly with long knives. Et tu, Brute?

Read the entire piece.