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December News Digest

23 December 2011

While raking through old documents Dale Crawford came across a parking ticket

dated 3 February1953 – the day he left Houston to join the U.S. Army. The $1 fine was unpaid and he didn’t like the idea of being in debt. When he contacted City Hall. he was invited to meet Mayor Annise Parker  who accepted the outstanding fine (see picture) and thanked Mr Crawford for the example he set to others owing money to the city.   

A sunny and dry Christmas Day is forecast in Houston with the temperature reaching 57 degrees with an overnight low of 39.  The forecast of a high of 52 degrees in Aberdeen is well above the seasonal average.  

Southern Living magazine has named Houston as one of the Top 10 Tastiest Towns in the southern states of the U.S.  It is praised for its “diverse ethnic food scene.” Others in the Top 10 are New Orleans, Lafayette, Louisiana; Raleigh, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotttesville, Virginia; Decatur, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Birmingham, Alabama. Readers have until 31 January to vote for their tastiest town at www.sothernliving.com/souths-tastiest-towns.

After four years of argument and debate Houston City Council have approved a new restriction requiring high rise residential blocks to be sited at least 30-40ft. from surrounding homes, depending on street sizes. The buffer requirements are the first piece of a larger package to update the city’s development code known as Chapter 42.

16 December 2011

Houston’s energy sector will continue to lead the city’s economic recovery in 2012, according to the Greater Houston Partnership’s economic forecasts. They predict 84,600 new jobs in the area next year with expansion being driven by energy prices, the strength of the dollar and growth in the domestic economy. In the 12 months to October 2011, the Houston metropolitan area added 79,500 new jobs – one in seven of them related to energy.  The manufacturing sector is expected to show greater growth in 2011, adding 11,700 jobs.

The income gap in Houston is highlighted in a survey, which shows the wealthiest 20% of residents of Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown earn 50.7% of the area’s total income while the poorest 20% earn only 3.3%.

Houston is at No 9 the in the crime league table for U.S. cities with populations of half-a-million or more. Detroit had the dubious distinction of topping the table while El Paso,Texas had the lowest crime rate. The figures were based on the numbers of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor thefts in 2010-11.  

The Houston Rodeo records more hits via the Google search engine than any other local website. Runner-up is the Memorial Hermann Hospital website.  

9 December 2011

Kemah Boardwalk is the No 1 attraction in the Houston area with three million admissions in 2010. It was followed by Houston Astros Basketball Club, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Museum of Fine Arts. The 42-acre Kemah complex (pictured) overlooking Galveston Bay offers recreational, entertainment, retail and hotel and restaurant facilities. It opened in 2001.

Houstonians rushed to home improvement stores this week to buy cold weather supplies as overnight temperatures dropped to the mid-20s. Householders were advised to ensure pipes were protected from the cold.

 

Passengers from Europe will be able to fly to Houston on board the world’s largest jet next year. Alterations are to be made at George Bush Intercontinental Airport to accommodate Lufthansa’s A380 aircraft which will operate on the Frankfurt-Houston route from next August. The double decker A380 which seats 526 passengers currently flies to only three airports in the U.S.and Houston will become its first port of call in Texas. Aberdeen has a direct air link with Frankfurt so the Lufthansa service offers a gateway to Houston.

2 December 2011

The Mayor’s Holiday Celebration officially launched the festive season in Houston with the switch of the lights on the Christmas tree outside City Hall (pictured) on 2 December. As well as fireworks there was entertainment by Grammy Award winner Diane Schurr and American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. Families were asked to donate a new unwrapped toy for the Salvation Army to distribute to under-privileged children. Texas has around 100 Christmas tree farms but drought has stunted the growth of trees this year. Only half these farms have watering systems so more Christmas trees than usual will be imported from elsewhere in the U.S.

Despite recent rain and cooler temperatures water conservation measures remain in effect in Houston to help maintain an adequate supply at the city’s three drinking water reservoirs at Lakes Conroe, Houston and Livingston. Use of water outdoors is restricted to two days a week before 10a.m. and after 8p.m. Even number addresses can use water on Sundays and Thursday and odd number properties on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Houston has become of the first of the largest U.S. markets to recover all the jobs lost during the recession. Figures for October show that Houston has recovered more than 121,000 jobs. While the Greater Houston Partnership expect to see further jobs growth they don’t expect the local economy to return to 2007-08 levels any time soon.

Help to find your way around George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport is now available to Android device users. They can use the new Google maps application to navigate the ins and outs of the two airports. The maps show airline gates, retail stores, dining locations and cash machines.

The hurricane season officially ended this week with Houston escaping both the two hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland this summer – Hurricane Lee in Louisiana and Irene in North Carolina.  There were 18 named tropical storms with reaching with seven reaching hurricane status including Lee and Irene. On average there are 11 named storms during the hurricane season with six becoming hurricanes.