From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Ashley Benton, the 17 year old accused of murdering a 15 year old, has agreed to a plea bargain and will avoid prison time. • Former President George Bush's favorite BBQ joint, Otto's on Memorial is going to be razed to make way for new construction. There is no current date for the demise of Otto's, so go grab a Bush plate......

The big question heading into the Texans matchup against the San Diego Chargers has nothing to do with Matt Schaub's hip, Andre Johnson's knee, or Gary Kubiak's recent coaching decisions, but when and where the game will be played. As you're no doubt aware, George Bush started a series of fires in Southern California to distract attention away from the Iraq war, and a lot of people around the San Diego area were forced......

No, not that Pelosi, but her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, will stop through Houston tomorrow as part of theThe Texas Freedom Network 2007 Faith & Freedom Speaker Series. At Downtown's Christ Church Cathedral [1117 Texas Ave.], the producer will screen her award-winning film Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi followed by a conversation with Pelosi as she gives a firsthand account of her memorable encounters with prominent leaders of the religious right. The......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor Cybastean. A small tributary of Buffalo Bayou meanders through the trees and brush on the far east end of Bush Park. A nice and brooding HDR image of Buffalo Bayou as it snakes through George Bush Park. The largest park in Harris County at over 13,000 acres, it was renamed in 1997, originally named Cullen-Barker Park. The park is part of......

Houston is having one hell of an Arbor Day and you too can be a part of it (you just have to get your hands a little on the dirty side). Arbor Day was established in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska. It seems that the Nebraska Territory was not readily settled, due to the lack of trees on the tallgrass prairie (the better to build and heat cabins - log cabins,......

So what do you do if you're an ex-president with some extra time on your hands during the holidays? One idea: become a Salvation Army bell ringer like former President Bush and Barbara did yesterday. George and Bar were kettleside outside Gallery Furniture to help increase donations — two of the Salvation Army's four U.S. regions reported last week that giving is down as much as 11 percent compared with last year. "We know we're......

Sonic, America’s Favorite Drive-In, goes Dine-In or Out in a first of it’s kind restaurant located in the parking garage at the University of Houston (located at Calhoun and University). According to the Houston Business Journal , the new 1950’s style diner will not only be open to the general public, parking is free for up to thirty minutes for patrons. For anyone who's ever tried to park at UH, you know how important......

God, we're so sick of Snakes on a Plane that we want to kill anyone and everyone that makes a "something on a something" joke. But then we realized that there was no way we could ever win this fight, and, hell, if you can't beat them, we might as well join them. And with that, you have the theme of this week's Gothamist network post. Austinist makes it easy for us, with Candidate......

It's summer and Houstonians are flaming the fires of love. Just check out this week's Craigslist Missed Connections: 24 Hr Fitness on Westheimer & Chimney Rock Ummm, where to start? I've never done this before! I see you like everyday at the gym after work around 5:30 and you're SO cute! We're on the treadmill at the same time everytime but never beside each other...kinda sucks! I'd like to say hi but there's never......

We all learned from Patrick Dempsey that you Can't Buy Me Love, well that also applies to the love of your four legged friends. Even so, local multi-millionaire Bernard Aptaker has thrown caution to the wind and is donating 60 acres near George Bush Intercontinental Airport for creation of the Freedom Farm refuge to the Houston SPCA. The refuge will releave overcrowding at the current Portway St. 5 acre shelter that has been home......