Rice junior Matthew Wilson, 20, is still missing, and while authorities are not treating the case as foul play, concern is growing. Wilson, whose car is gone but who left his cell phone in the apartment he shares with a roommate, often goes into near-isolation around finals period, say those who know him. His roommate, upon not seeing him for several days, assumed he had merely missed him on his way to or from the......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Chester Miles, the missing Houston minister, has been found in a hospital recuperating from stab wounds. • The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch today at 2:21 pm from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. UPDATE: Today's launch has been scrubbed and will not be rescheduled until sometime in January. • An off duty reserve constable shot and killed a 19 year......

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......

Update: Yesterday's news of Pimp C's dead shot across the city of Houston via blogs, message boards, and shocked emails. Rumors of foul play, even a mention of fellow rapper Spice 1 also being involved in a shooting, buzzed around town. The two incidents are not thought to be related. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Butler had apparently died in bed. "At this time there's no signs of foul......

Houston rapper Pimp C was found dead this morning in his hotel room on LA's Sunset Strip. Pimp C had performed with Too Short on Saturday evening at the House of Blues. Pitchfork reports "L.A. firefighters responded to a 911 call at the Sunset Strip's Mondrian Hotel, where they found the rapper dead in his bed. No information on cause of death has been given at this time." Pimp C, born Chad Butler, was one......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • The saga of Riley Ann Sawyers continues. This Chronicle article discusses how Riley's Mom ended up in Texas. • A ten year old fourth grader was cuffed in a school in Cleveland, Tx. • Four teenagers have been arrested in the murder of off-duty Precinct 6 reserve deputy constable Carltrell Lewayne Odom. • Six local firefighters were injured during a fire in......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • DNA evidence confirms the identity of "Baby Grace" as Riley Ann Sawyers. • Camioni’s Restaurant in north Houston falls victim to false rumors, online hoax. • A southwest Houston bicyclist is dead after being struck by a vehicle. • The birdwatcher who went on trial for killing a cat has been shot at and claims he feels like "a walking abortion clinic."......

A fire erupted this morning at a Sharpstown-area public housing development mostly populated by senior citizens. The fire, causes of which are still unknown, began on the fifth floor of the seven story building, and required multiple firetrucks responding from several stations. As firefighters fight the fire, residents are taking shelter in a nearby apartment building, Regency Square, and some are being moved into that complex already. The 210-until Bellerive Senior Highrise is home to......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A woman was kidnapped during a home invasion overnight, but was later released. • The Rockets broke their six game losing streak last night with a win over Denver. • Local toy drives are scrutinizing donated toys. • Are HISD libraries understocked? • One of the U.S. Marshall's 15 most wanted fugitives was caught in Pearland. • Three teens have been arrested......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Morning rains have created some road closures in town. • A body has been discovered in a gully near Seabrook • Hit and run accident critically injures pedestrian. • Unmanned drones are being tested by the FAA in Houston. • Could it really be? Lower property taxes for Harris county homeowners. • A plane owned by a Houston area man crashed in......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A World War II era ship that Texas A&M-Galveston used as a classroom at sea has been sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to create an artificial reef. • HPD is cracking down on ID Theft. Here's a story that focuses on one recent bust. • Hey, what do you know...people like public transportation. • The U of H Cougars beat Marshall,......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • 28 miles per hour seems to be the magic speed when cruising downtown. • Insurance regulators approved a 10% hike in coastal wind insurance rates, that's an increase of about $84. • Rice University has transplanted over a dozen oak trees, including some over 100 years old, in order to make way for new dorms. • The Dynamo take on DC United......

You may have heard the various stories about the possibility of a fatality connected to Sunday's implosion of the Crowne Plaza hotel in the Medical Center. So far, the Chronicle reports that someone may have sneaked into the hotel before the demolition, KHOU reports that Medical Center workers say they saw someone enter the building just before demolition and possibly closed a door (on the video), KTRK has a blurry close-up of the aforementioned door,......

Ah, the sweet smack of gentrification strikes again -- this time targetting the ever-quirky and loveable Super Happy Fun Land. Their current building (2610 Ashland St.) has been sold in order to make room for more condominiums, which some apparently delusional real estate-type creature has decided our fair city is lacking. Super Happy Fun Land will be moving on out by the end of January 2008 to locations currently unknown. Have an idea for a......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • There's an Amber Alert for a missing teenager from Fort Bend Co. • Houston Dynamo knock off FC Dallas to advance in MLS Western Conference Playoffs • Local authorities have released artist renderings of Baby Grace • An HPD office was hurt overnight in an accident on the Gulf Freeway. • The Museum of Fine Arts has raised over 3 million dollars......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

In a fight trying to reinstate a fraction of what the city had miles of before 1940, the Metro Board has voted on the future placement of the controversial University Line - west: Richmond-Cummins-Westpark-Hillcroft transit center, and heading east on Richmond/Wheeler and terminating at the Eastwood transit center. The other main west contenders were Richmond-Greenway-Westpark, Richmond-Kirby-Westpark, or to can it altogether. There is still more work and fighting to do, though - Metro must still......

Attention Lance Lovers! Texas' most famous cancer survivor will be visiting Houston tomorrow to lobby in support of Proposition 15. You can click here to read it in its entirety, but it's not any kind of Engrish that we recognize. The short story is that Prop 15, if passed, would result in a constitutional ammendment allowing for obligation bonds to raise money and establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Lance explained......

So, Ashby Highrise. Here in one of Houstonist's favorite neighborhoods, we're seeing lots of signs that say "Tower of Traffic" and "Stop Ashby Highrise", and we got caught in that protest the other day on our way to and from Rice campus. But one detail we'd missed until now came to our attention in a Rice Thresher article. The Thresher, Rice's award-winning weekly newspaper, has its ups and downs, but it's extremely under-appreciated by Owls......

WOW! Houstonist knew Humberto had strengthening potential, apparently he is "strong like bull", forming and achieving hurricane status within a 24 hour period. While Houston did not get much action, our neighbors to the East have been walloped with rains and sustained wind gusts of up to 85 mph. Houstonist has heard that there are possibly 100,000 people are without power this morning, as Hurricane Humberto made landfall just east of High Island and continues......

We told you conditions were ripe, and now we have T.S. Humberto (pronounced just like the "H" in Humble, which is "not at all", it's decorative, like faux greenery). Packing a maximum sustained wind "punch" of 45 MPH, he will be paying us a visit tonight, he's still lumbering right for us, and not too hastily. Given that we've gotten quite the soaking all summer long, we could be in for some street flooding later......

Yup, Tropical Depression 9 has formed and is tracking North. What was once an area of low pressure could be a Tropical Storm by landfall as conditions are ripe. Projected ETA to the Houston/Galveston area is 7:00 p.m. and rainfalls of 6"-10" are possible with up to 15" in some areas. The projected flood watch area stretches from Houston/Galveston to Lake Charles. T.D. 9 is plodding along at about 8-10 mph and may slooooowly mosey......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......

We were hoping that the nearly posthumous landmark designation and demolition-delaying rain spells might have given Weingarten Realty that last little bit of time to ruminate over their plans to demolish the River Oaks Shopping Center - unfortunately, according to Cherry Demolition, the bulldozers move in Tuesday to begin the demolition and make way for the big box anchor Barnes and Noble plus a four story parking garage. We were sad to see places like......

Yesterday, members of the Caribbean Impact Foundation, a local non-profit organization, stood before the International Liaison and Protocol Committee to request that the city name this week Caribbean Relief Week due to the devastating effects Hurricane Dean had on many Caribbean nations. The mayor issued the proclamation and encouraged Houstonians to do what they can to aid the relief work: Houstonians have always shown a big heart in times of need, and I know they......

Yes, we know it's not "new" news, however, we did promise an update - even if an admittedly late one. Landry's Seafood Restaurants cut a deal with its bondholders which buys them two more years of financing for a 2% rate increase. The cost of money goes up from 7.5% to 9.5% - or, approximately $15mil/year. That's a lot of clams, but it does beat the alternative. Photo courtesy of flickr user B&M Photography......

Houston Zoo lovers are saying goodbye to Bu the Southern white rhino who died late last week. Bu (short for Samburu) was a 4,000 pound Zoo celebrity and one of its oldest inhabitants at age 39. Apparently, in a bit of zoo drama, Bu had fallen into depression after losing lifetime plutonic rhino pal Marci last March and never recovered. We'll miss the big guy. Does anyone else have 'The Circle of Life' stuck......

Breaking news: it's raining. A lot. So if you were schedule to appear in court today, here's this tidbit from the good ol' CoH: The City of Houston Municipal Courts remain open today, Thursday, August 16, 2007, however, those individuals who are scheduled to appear in court and are unable to make their court appearance due to inclement weather, will be given the opportunity to reset their case (s). Resets will be given in......

City Council voted yesterday to sell the 2400 block of Bolsover (between Kelvin and Morningside - we can't Street View it yet, but here's the Google Map) in Rice Village to Lamesa Village Ltd., a mixed use developer, for $1.5 million. Many residents expressed practical concerns about traffic and parking, but some were also bothered by the city selling public land for private profit. Lamesa Village Ltd. plans to build a development called Sonoma, which......

Bad news for Houston schools: according to federal ratings, 737 schools across Texas (including 155 in the Houston area) fall short of national standards set by No Child Left Behind. Those numbers are up a whopping 36 percent of last year - but why? HISD's low graduation rate could be to blame. Last year, the district graduated just 67% of students, a little below the national requirement of 70% (which still seems remarkably low to......