Good morning, Houston. If the dearth of new TV in the wake of the writer's strike has left you willing to watch anything, we've got some news for you: HTV, the municipal station, is launching a new program! Woohoo! Entertainment Houston, a 30-minute show, will focus on — wait for it — Houston's facilities, included the Wortham Center, Jones Hall, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the not-quite-finished Discovery Green. A new episode......

Good morning, Houston. If you, like Houstonist, are looking forward to the day when Buffalo Bayou will be redeveloped as parkway from the East End through downtown to Shepherd Drive, you might be interested in this: The county is planning to build a massive new jail smack dab in the middle of that park system. The proposed 2,500-bed jail, which would be located next to the county jail on Baker Street, would apparently take......

So all day yesterday, we heard people complaining about about the Harris County commissioners' proposal to raise the cost of using the county toll road system — and we even added our two cents. But is the rate increase a done deal? No, according to KHOU, which reports that commissioners approved a "toll-setting policy" on Tuesday, with the actual toll increase decision still to come in another vote. Or yes, according to KTRK, which says......

Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece and not at all representative of Houstonist as a whole. ------ Here's my humble opinion: Steve Radack sucks. No, it's not eloquent, not even mature, but it is called for given the recent announcement that the cost of driving on the Westpark Tollway will jump to $2.50 during peak times come September. Seriously, this Houstonist contributor would better serve Houston than the man who's in charge of stuff like......

This is the first in a series of posts about the simmering 2007 City Council races. Check Houstonist in the next week or two for information about Districts D and E and At-Large Positions 3 and 5. Current District I Representative Carol Alvarado is term-limited this year, and two contestants are hotly vying for her seat. James Rodriguez, Alvarado's former chief-of-staff and her pick for the position, announced his candidacy late last year - a......

The Chronicle reports today that Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, who has held the top elected post in the county since 1995, may be considering leaving office before his current term expires to take a job in the private sector. "In the last 90 days I've had conversations with a New York firm and international investment banking firms," Eckels said. "I have had more serious discussions than in the past. They are more concrete." Though......

In the wake of a pit bull attack that left a 4-year-old boy dead in northeast Harris County a couple of weeks ago, county officials have given the green light to a study of how best to prevent dog attacks in the future. The county's pit bull task force, formed after last month's attack, will look at whether local regulations, state laws or more animal control officers would help the most when it comes to......

If you're a fan of toll roads — and let's be honest, who isn't? — you'll probably be really pleased to know that Harris County and the state have reached an agreement that will let the county expand three toll projects using state right-of-way. Total cost: Well, we don't know. TxDOT has asked the county for $1 billion upfront, plus an unspecified share of future toll revenue, to use state land to build 80......

As we wait for an announcement that may or may not be made about the new name Houston's MLS team may or may not get, we bring you Slightly Rough's roundup of blogs' reactions to 1836-gate. Actually, it's more than that — his compilation goes back to December, when the team was getting ready to move here from San Jose. Some highlights: "Offensive to Mexican-Americans" is becoming a tool to erase Texas history from the......

On the news that Houston 1836, Houston's new MLS franchise, may be changing its name soon: So far, Houstonist isn't convinced. KHOU reported yesterday that the team's name will be changing under pressure from local Mexican-Americans — though 1836 represents the year Houston was founded, it was also the year Texas defeated Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and won its independence from Mexico. Apparently, that so offends some Hispanics that they feel like they......

Houston Port Commissioner Cheryl Thompson-Draper is under fire for a racist remark she allegedly made in Shanghai last year — but it seems her comment wasn't much of an issue until she made a county commissioner mad. While port commissioners were on a trade mission to Shanghai in May, Thompson-Draper reportedly objected to a black band that played at an event, saying she preferred "just country-western music. If not, I am out of here. I......