By now, you've probably heard the news that Houston-based Continental Airlines has decided not to merge with another carrier right away — but, of course, that doesn't mean Continental won't look into a deal down the road. "We have significant cultural, operational and financial strengths compared to the rest of the industry, and we want to protect and enhance those strengths — which we believe would be placed at risk in a merger with another carrier......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A bicyclist was killed early Friday evening after being struck by a van on Old Katy Road. • A new three million dollar ad campaign to enhance the city's image is set to launch in February. The ad campaign will feature celebrities such as Beyonce and heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley. Expect to see these ads in The Wall Street Journal, USA......

Houston! We’re going to be rounding up current food and wine events once a week, so you don’t have to. Previously, we posted these gastronomic opportunities, along with festivals and the like – having let that slip was criminal! Once again, Culinary Adventures comes your way!!! Tour de Donut – “The Sweetest Bike Ride in Texas”Sunday, November 4th – beginning at 8:00 a.m. Sun & Ski Sports @ Katy Mills Mall $25/participant in advance $35/participant......

Good morning, Houston. In the mood for a really, really bad promotional video? It's your lucky day: May we introduce you to "The Metro Report", a quasi-Colbert Report-style production in which a host, Elliot Roberts, "interviews people on the street" about why they love riding public transportation. Which makes us wonder: Where'd Metro find all these people? Oh, right, they're actually actors — and, according to KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino, this bit of self-promotion cost......

Good morning, Houston. How many of you knew what Monday was? Anyone? Anyone? That's right: It was the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To mark the anniversary, the nation had a little holiday, Constitution Day — but how many people actually knew about it? Not many, apparently: Though federal law says students at public high schools should be taught about Constitution Day, a recent survey of students found that......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like we'll have a tougher time cracking out those fake Benjamins next year: The $100 bill will soon be getting a high-tech makeover to thwart counterfeiters. The key feature: 650,000 tiny lenses embedded in each bill, which will magnify the printing so that the portrait of Benjamin Franklin appears to move up and down or side to side, depending on which way you move the bill. "It makes for a......

Organic short documentary showing the cool, hidden life of Houston, America's 4th Largest city. Features interviews with George Foreman, Chloe Dao, Lauren Anderson and others. Musical performances by Beetle and Michael Ward. Great cinematography and editorial. Produced by Merideth Melville. Directed by W. Ross Wells. This is a very well done documentary that runs 12:14 and was made in part by Continental Airlines and is linked with visithoustontexas.com which is a site for The......

Good morning, Houston. Did you happen to be in the West U. area last night? If so, maybe you noticed the train derailment in the area, which prompted the evacuation of a handful of houses and the closure of a section of Bissonnet Street. The derailment, which involved seven cars, happened on the Union Pacific line near the corner of Community and Judson; four of the cars were carrying wheat and lumber, and another......

Good morning, Houston. So, did you hear about the calf that ran loose along the Gulf Freeway feeder road near Clear Lake City Boulevard yesterday? As if there aren't enough things causing traffic on our freeways, you know? The calf apparently got loose through a hole in a fence, and it wandered along the feeder for nearly an hour and a half, eluding its would-be captors until it slipped back through the hole where......

Good morning, Houston. It's Thursday — the last day of May — which means there's just a few more hours to enter the Houstonist photo exhibition. We're accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, so be sure to send your photos before then. As always, the details and entry form are at 600sqmi.com. Good luck! >> Aw, hail: We knew there was a chance of rain yesterday, but we didn't expect a long bout of......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like the Legislature could be gearing up for a debate of Biblical proportions: state Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) has proposed a bill that would require public high schools to offer courses on the Old and New Testaments. Chisum said the courses, which would be electives, would focus on history and literature, bt critics worry that teachers' religious beliefs could seep into the classes and that certain historical perspectives — Catholic......

A little late for valentines day, but a compliment nonetheless...Houston’s own Continental Airlines was named America’s “Most Admired” airline of 2007 by Fortune Magazine. Continental beat out Southwest, JetBlue and others for the top spot. What’s it take to be the “Most Admired", you ask? (Obviously not the time it takes to walk from Gate E-19 to C-18 at IAH) The “Most Admired” honor is based on the following eight attributes: Innovation, People management, Use......

Good morning, Houston. In case you were wondering, the threat of a "sickout" by HISD teachers upset over the district's new merit pay program ended up not happening after all. "It never crossed my mind [to call in sick]," Anderson Elementary teacher Linda Burks told the Chronicle. "I had a job to do." She added that all her colleagues showed up for work Tuesday, too — but then again, most of them got bonuses.......

Good morning, Houston. Did you feel particularly down in the dumps yesterday? There's a good reason for it, according to Dr. Cliff Arnal, a psychologist at Cardiff University: Arnal has named Jan. 22 the most depressing day of the year, what with the gloomy weather, post-holiday bills and failed new year's resolutions. But here's a reason to cheer back up: Today is National Pie Day! If anyone needs us, you know where we'll be......

From the "It's probably better you don't know what's going on in the cockpit" file comes the story of a Continental Airlines pilot who collapsed in flight Saturday aboard a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta. Fortunately, it didn't turn into a situation like one you'd see in a bad suspense movie — in fact, officials say the 210 people on board the flight were never in any danger. The flight took off from Bush......

Consolidation talks in the airline industry have reached Houston's Continental Airlines, The New York Times reports today: According to sources close to the companies, Continental and United Airlines are in preliminary merger talks because neither wants to be left at a disadvantage by a possible consolidation of US Airways and Delta Air Lines. The Times reports that Glenn Tilton and Larry Kellner, the CEOs of United and Continental, have met in person to talk about......

So here's something we didn't know about: a 40,000-square-foot bunker built in Montgomery County by a Chinese oilman who was afraid of another world war. It sounds like a fascinating place, and it's becoming Continental Airlines' new backup operations center. The airline has chosen the bunker as the location for its backup computers and data systems that would monitor Continental flights if a citywide disaster puts Continental's downtown command center out of operation. The shelter,......

From the "stories you thought you'd heard the last of" file, we bring you news that Victoria Osteen, the wife of Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, has been fined $3,000 by the FAA for interfering with a Continental Airlines flight attendant last year — and she's facing a lawsuit by a flight attendant who claims Osteen assaulted her during the now-infamous on-board snit. Surely you remember the story of Victoria Osteen's run-in with Continental personnel......

A police union has put up billboards critical of HPD to let people know "Houston is not a safe city" And today, HPD Chief Harold Hurtt defended the department's revised chase policy before City Council In the gubernatorial race, religion a common theme among the candidates — though everyone seems to have different views Looks like there's a common thread among the gubernatorial candidates ... and it's God Now in the baby world: ultrasound images......

KTRK is reporting that three Continental Airlines employees are being treated after being exposed to fumes coming from the cargo hold of an airplane at Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal C. Here's the story: The Continental employees were on a ramp to a plane shortly before 9:00am Friday when they suffered eye irritation from vapors coming out of a bag or box. The three workers were taken to a local clinic for medical treatment. HFD HazMat......

The possibility still exists that a string of murders in Acres Homes were committed by more than one person rather than a single serial killer, HPD says A Continental Airlines pilot has been fired for testing positive for alcohol use while on his way to a flight Sunday Curtis Jetton, the man who survived last week's explosion in a Texas City apartment, has a history of mental illness, his lawyer said today Yeah, it's wet......

A small helicopter crashed this morning at an airfield in Montgomery County; the pilot suffered minor head injuries and the incident is being investigated HPD officers were involved in three separate chases in four hours overnight A 12-year-old boy walked in on two men robbing his parents' house in New Territory and got tied up, but was able to call 911 for help Early this morning, 500 gallons of fuel spilled at Ellington Field when......

Have you been kicking yourself because you missed this year's fabulous EV1.Net Art Car Parade? Well, it's time to give your leg a rest and prop it up on the coffee table - Tonight on Local 2 KPRC at 7 p.m. will be the first ever prime time airing of the parade and to celebrate there will be a viewing party at Dave & Buster's at Richmond and Fountainview from 6 - 9 p.m.......

So you're flying with your pet and you end up on a long layover — what do you do? If you happen to have a layover at Bush Intercontinental Airport (and we're not sure why you would if you're from Houston), you now have an option: Continental Airlines opened the country's first on-site airport pet kennel earlier this week. It's a 24-hour facility that's prepared to handle whatever pets come its way. "This is a......

More on TSU President Priscilla Slade's spendy ways: It turns out she spent even more of the university's money than we had heard. Receipts and invoices obtained by the Chronicle show that in 2005, Slade spent more than twice the $50,000 allotted her for travel, entertainment and other expenses, including more than $20,000 on club memberships and nearly $9,500 in moving expenses. Among her expenditures last year: • $5,378 in annual dues for a membership......

This is one day Houstonist is sad we don't rely on public transportation — because today, Metro is bribing people to ride the MetroRail by offering them plane tickets, gift certificates, sports tickets and museum passes. It's almost enough to make you want to get drooled on by the person next to you on the train, isn't it? The giveaways are part of Metro's 20 Millionth Rider Day, which will also feature live music......

Looking for something fun to do with your four-legged companion this weekend? Look no more: PAWS Houston is hosting its Doggie Dash at Sam Houston Park on Saturday. The Doggie Dash offers dogs and their owners a 5K fun run and a 1-mile family walk. Highlights of the event include costume contests, family fun activities and fun for the doggies — and a drawing for tickets on Continental Airlines (Houstonist assumes that's for the......

At the Port of Houston, a woman was run over and killed by a fork lift while she was taking notes Word on what eccentric millionaire Robert Durst was doing when he violated parole by visiting Galveston: seeing a doctor, a lawyer and stopping by his former home The sponsors of Houston's rival MLK Day parades may join forces to hold a single parade in 2006 An appeals court denied Tom DeLay's lawyers' request to......

More details emerge as the news of Victoria Osteen's hissy on a Colorado-bound airplane spreads like wildfire across the globe. From the Houston Chronicle: At least some people aboard the Continental Airlines flight were less than pleased after waiting about two hours at Bush Intercontinental Airport while the Osteens left the plane and their luggage was removed, said a woman who witnessed the incident. "She was just abusive," said Sheila Steele, who said she was......