Move over Montrose and Midtown: the first certified organic restaurant in town is moving in, and it's moving into the suburbs. Florida-based Pizza Fusion, the nation's only organic restaurant chain that also requires organic certification for all of its vendors, is opening this November at Vintage Park. Never heard of Vintage Park? That's because it's located at Highway 249 and Louetta Road, close to the Hewlett-Packard campus, in far north Houston. Originally imagined as......

The incredibly talented and modest Mlee Marie Suprean has to be one of the hardest working musicians in Houston. Juggling five musical projects (including the fantastic Hearts of Animals) at the same time can’t be easy for anybody, but even while recovering from a nasty cough, Suprean still made time to talk to the Houstonist about what’s on both her mind and plate. Mlee is an interesting name. Where did that come from? My......

The Biomimicry Guild and the AIA Committee on the Environment will host a lecture this Wednesday (12/05/07) on Biomimicry its uses and applications. Dayna Baumeister, PhD, and co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, will give the evening lecture which will then be follow by two workshop sessions on Thursday and Friday. For those less familiar, Biomimicry is "a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and imitates them to solve human problems." But wait, aren't......

::The Orange Show Concert Series presents Charalambides & Alasdair Roberts:: Bring on the folk artists! What we've come to know and love from the The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, tonight continues to bring musical artists with unique creative visions to the intimate amphitheater of its namesake folk art environment. Austin-based favorites Charalambides return to their former hometown of Houston to play fan favorites from their nearly two dozen albums and new works from......

::Dominc Walsh presnts Sleeping Beauty:: Something about the end of a tough week that makes keen on the idea of watching undulating bodies float across a stage in a modern interpretation of this classic story. Ahhh, we are getting all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it. That could be also be the tequila shot soaking in. Hey, it's Friday. After the success of his "Romeo & Juliet," Dominic Walsh will once again take......

You may not know the name Robert Hodge, but you soon will. Hodge, acclaimed mixed media artist, and member of the successful Houston band, The F-ing Transmissions, prepares this week for a solo art showing at H Gallery (327 W. 19th), "Turn Off The Radio". On the heels of an acclaimed showing at Rice Village boutique, Premium Goods, and being hand picked to participate in the recent traveling KSwiss "Sneaker Pimps" featuring Redman and Bun......

Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Speaking tonight is John Peterson, Principal, Peterson Architects, and Founder, Public Architecture, San Francisco, CA. The......

We hope you are keeping the Spacetaker Optiks Gala on your radar, cuz it's been on ours for quite awhile. Bleep.....bleep...bleep..bleep, bleep, bleep. Yep, it's coming up. September 29th. Do you have your tix yet? Spacetaker September Artist Saloon This month Buffalo Bayou Art Park & Spacetaker, in conjunction with Winter Street Studios, present Sasha Dela, Jonathan Durham, and Dominic Walsh of the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater for the September edition of The Artist Saloon.......

Rice Design Alliance Fall Lecture Series Tonight at MFA Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Lectures are held Mondays beginning today, Sept......

Spacetaker August Artist Saloon Critical conversation in a casual environment. And such brings us to another installment of Spacetaker's Monthly Artist Saloon, a monthly event where the salon and the saloon meet at the Winter Street Studios [2101 Winter Street]. Artists and art aficionados gather for drinks and an informal conversation about art. This month's Saloon features the art offerings of Chris Dunn, Reverend Butter, and Aerosol Warfare. About Spacketaker Art Saloon Every third Wednesday......

...and so are temperatures all over the planet (especially in Houston this week). This afternoon, environmental leaders engage citizens, in the form of Starbucks customers, in conversations about climate change and offer practical solutions to the climate crisis. This afternoon from 2 - 3pm at the W. Gray Starbucks (um, the one with the drive-thru, not to be confused with the one across the street without the drive-thru), the green-minded coffee company will host a......

Spacetaker July Artist Saloon Critical conversation in a casual environment. The salon and the saloon meet at the Winter Street Studios Gallery. Artists and art aficionados gather for drinks and an informal conversation about art. This month's Artist Saloon Features: Hank Hancock, Cody Ledvina and Jenny Schlief Every third Wednesday of the month, Winter Street Studios, Spacetaker and Buffalo Bayou Art Park host The Artist Saloon, an evening of artist interaction and libation where three......

There are some restaurants we go to because we love the food and others because we like the décor and atmosphere. Jenni’s Noodle House is neither but we love going here because we like how it makes us feel. This popular downtown lunch hot spot is quirky and personable. Devoted patrons almost seem to carry a badge of honor after a meal at Jenni’s. Owners Scott and Jenni imprint their personality throughout their humble restaurant.......

Contain Yourself! After days and days of driving down Main, nearly vearing off the road from craning our necks to check out the interesting graphic on the window of the Center for Contemporary Craft, we've finally figured it out (and a good thing for pedestrians!). Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets From the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, is an exhibit at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft continuing through Sept. 23. More than 40 artists are represented......

A tragic story continued unfolding this week in the case of Dennis Ray Driver Jr., the 8-month-old Houston boy who died late last year while asleep on his father's chest: The father, Dennis Driver, has been charged with murder in connection with the infant's death — and police say the boy died from taking cocaine. It happened Dec. 28, when Driver says he fell asleep with Dennis Jr. asleep on his chest; when Driver woke......

By now, you might have already seen the video floating around the Internet that seems to show a toddler who has been given ecstasy. If not, you can check it out here — just be prepared to see a lot of stupidity. In short, it's a video that first appeared on YouTube (it's since been removed); it shows the child sitting on the floor of a van, eyes rolling, as she's tapped, squeezed and slapped......

We talked yesterday about the body parts that were found in northwest Harris County in the past few days — remember, homicide investigators initially thought the decomposed parts (two hands and a foot) belonged to a human, but later they discovered they were actually bear parts. So, case closed, right? Well, it still leaves the question of where the bear came from and what it was doing so close to Houston. And so far, no......

Good morning, Houston. Hot weather? Rain? Another week in our cube farm? Looks like Houstonist has a case of the Mondays. We'd better just move on to the news ... >> Mayor: I'll find money to keep day-labor site open: A spokesman for Mayor Bill White said Friday that the mayor will help find $100,000 to fund a day-labor site after city officials voted to cut its public funding. Critics of the site, which......

The city's Planning Commission on Thursday recommended landmark designation for the River Oaks Shopping Center and Alabama Theater/Bookstop, meaning the two structures are a step closer to preservation — or as close as Houston ever really gets to preservation, which is far enough away to be sure the city doesn't piss off any developers with deep pockets. As we noted when the landmark designation process began back in April, the next step in designation......

Californian-turned-Australian musician John Butler and his band are making a return to Houston this Thursday night at Warehouse Live – and we have a pair of tickets, just for you. The John Butler Trio is touring supporting their new album Grand National. Butler uses his music to express his beliefs, whether they are about politics, the environment, or relationships, but this time he does it with his most accessible, consistent record to date. The jams......

We're not ashamed to admit it: We love the little train that goes around Hermann Park. The tiny cars, the meandering route, the tunnel, the bridge — all of it, we suppose, reminds us of our childhoods, when it didn't really matter that we were riding a train that just went in a big circle. So we're interested to see how a proposal to overhaul the train works out: Will it preserve what we love......

The Bald Heretic had an interesting bit of doorspam this week. The spammers didn't want to trim his trees or sell him pizza though. They wanted him to worship with them.. at Tinseltown. Apparently, a local church left a flyer on his door that said first-time visitors to Celebration Worship (10:15 Sundays at the not-so-safe Tinseltown Westchase, if you're interested) with Church at the Cross receive a free movie ticket. We wonder what movie they'll......

Ready for two month-long festivals of the arts? Who isn't? The month of June in darling Houston boasts both the Texas Music Festival 2007 and the Big Range Dance Festival, so get grroooovin. The Texas Music Festival 2007 runs from May 29 through June 30 and offers quite a plethora of both performances and classes for those of you interested in catching some musical waves via orchestra, symphony, or solo. According to the Moores website:The......

With all the rain last weekend, it was hard to get excited about the city pools opening up for the summer. However, this weekend is looking better (at least for now) and what better way to cool off (or get exercise if you so choose) than to take a dip in a pool…after all it is better than getting a fecal infection at the beach. The city of Houston operates 39 public pools and 13......

In the environmentally-friendly department, Houston has some great news. UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, will introduce big, brown hybrid trucks to four American cities, including Houston. The company said that they have 50 hybrid trucks ready to go in Dallas, Phoenix, and Atlanta (where the company is based), as well as our own fair city. The trucks will reduce UPS' fuel consumption by 44,000 gallons a year. UPS already has 20,000 low-emission and alternative-fuel......

Spacetaker May Artist Saloon Each month, Spacetaker.org features selected artists for their "Artist Saloon" - a (free) night of libation and informal discussion with working artists from various artistic arenas. Tonight at winter Street Studios, three local artists' works will be on display. Presented by Buffalo Bayou ArtPark, FIJI water, and Silver Eagle Distributors (yippee! this means beer!). [francesca fuchs] Houston artist Francesca Fuchs was born in London. She studied at the Wimbledon School of......

For the past 25 years, the Houston Area Survey, directed by Rice University Sociology Professor Stephen Klineberg, has been offering a timely window into the minds of Houstonians. The recently completed 2007 survey especially shows how Houston's attitudes reflect the changes in our post-Katrina city. This year, crime was the number one worry for Houston residents, but immigration is a fast-growing concern. For the second year, the number of people who believe that the racial......

High Fashion Home Hosts Organica Lounge + Guest Environmental Speakers It may not easy being green, but High Fashion Home is making it more bearable. Tonight, the swanky Midtown furniture and fabric retailer introduces their Environment Furniture Gallery, a line of environmental-friendly furniture and decor. To help launch the collection, the evening will include guest speakers Rebecca Foster, Green Education Consultant for Healthy Child Healthy World, on organization who works to expand awareness and......

If you're not already registered for CitizensNet newsletters, we suggest you do so. CitizensNet sends you periodic e-mails with city news that is tailored to your neighborhood and your interests. And, if you're interested in the environment, you'll now receive the city's environmental e-newsletter, The Environmental Standard. City environmental news and information is always available online, but the e-newsletter is a very convenient and compact medium for receiving it. This month's issue deals mainly with......

Urban Corridor Planning is a City of Houston initiative that "will change how the City regulates development and designs its streets and other infrastructure in order to create a high quality urban environment in areas along METRO’s light rail and guided rapid transit corridors." The results of UCP's Phase I can be seen here. Now it's time to begin the next phase, and the city is all but begging for your input. The kick-off workshop......