From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits...

Good morning, Houston. In these days of near-$3 gas, there's one group of drivers who aren't so worried: hypermilers, who use certain techniques to squeeze every possible M out of their MPG. Hypermiling involves a few pretty simple changes in the way you drive, including coasting, accelerating slowly from stops and the skillful use of cruise control. Used correctly, hypermiling can increase your car's fuel efficiency by 30 percent or more — so why......

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......

Good morning, Houston. You know what today is, right? It's the day before what's apparently the most important book in the history of the world, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released. If you're a Harryhead and a fan of Katy, our neighbor to the west, you should be delighted to know that Katy has been named the "Harryest" town in Texas — the distinction that goes to the town that pre-ordered the......

Misty Ann Weaver, the woman charged with three counts of felony murder and one case of arson in connection with the March 28 office building fire she confessed to setting, pleaded not guilty yesterday. Weaver, 33, told investigators in April that she set the fire in the office of her boss, plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Capriotti, to cover up the fact that she hadn't finished paperwork related to an accreditation audit for the doctor. After......

Good morning, Houston. According to a government report released yesterday, the national average price for a gallon of gas rose to $2.876 last week, up 7.4 cents over last week. Bad news, eh? But here's something good: A gallon of gas is, in general, a lot cheaper than that in Houston. Not that it's cheap or anything — according to reports, it'll cost you anywhere from $2.59 to $2.99 here. Looks like we might......

Looks like Misty Ann Weaver's defense attorneys won't be the only people picking through the rubble of the burned-out office building on the North Loop: The family of Jeanette Hargrove, one of three people killed in the March 28 fire, has filed suit against the building's owners and Weaver, the nurse who has confessed to setting the blaze, and they want their own investigation of the structure's fire safety systems. The suit, filed on behalf......

The Chronicle reports today that lawyers for Misty Ann Weaver, the nurse who has confessed to setting the March 28 office building fire that killed three people, plan to have their own inspectors look at the building's sprinkler system. Though he didn't give any specifics about the plans, attorney Todd Dupont also told the Chronicle that the defense team wants to figure out how long it took firefighters to respond to the fire. Dupont talked......

Good morning, Houston. If you're a smoker who's not a fan of the citywide smoking ban set to take effect this fall, here's something to be happy about: At least you don't live in Abilene, where a man was arrested on a warrant for smoking in public. Brian Wayne Hendrix was cited for smoking in public, a violation of Abilene's smoking ban, in late February; when he failed to show up in court, a......

One week after a northeast Houston office building fire that killed three people and injured several more, investigators are finally getting the chance to take an up-close look at the damaged portion of the building in hopes of finding out where and how the fire began. The investigation has been delayed because the building, at 9343 North Loop East, was structurally weakened by the fire that destroyed its top two floors; crews have been working......

Fire officials worked through the weekend to stabilize a burned-out east Houston office building in hopes of being able to begin an investigation of the cause of the fire. If the six-story structure at 9343 North Loop East is deemed safe enough, investigators could go in as early as Tuesday, nearly a week since the fire that killed three people and injured six more. Among the tasks in making the building safer this weekend was......

There's a lot of news from Wednesday's northeast Houston office building fire — but, at this point, there seem to be more questions than answers. Among those leading the questioning is KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino, who didn't have any luck getting information from the city about fire department response times. We imagine that'll come out eventually, but Dolcefino also raises questions about the building's safety systems — and the answers are a grim reminder of changing......

Three bodies have been found in the search of an East Loop office building damaged by fire yesterday afternoon, and a few firefighters and civilians — one of them in critical condition — are still recovering from injuries and smoke inhalation connected with the blaze. Details of the fire are still unclear, but we know that it began at about 5:15 p.m. on the fifth floor of the building at 9343 North Loop East. Smoke......

According to the Chronicle and CNN, firefighters are still working to put out a fire at a medical office building in east Houston. The fire was reported around 5:15 from the building, 9343 North Loop East. Firefighters are evacuating people who are trapped in the building, as they are only able to access the first through fourth floors. At least four people, including one firefighter, have been rushed to the hospital already, and firefighters are......

Good morning, Houston. We know what you're thinking this morning: "Sure," you're thinking, "this has been a pretty good week, but it would be way better if I got to walk through a giant model of the human colon!" Boy, are you in luck — a 25-foot interactive model of the colon will be at Ben Taub tomorrow. The Super Colon, as it's called, will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at......

Good morning, Houston. We're still a little foggy from yesterday's Super Bowl parties — and from the point in the second quarter when we started thinking about when we might see the Texans in the big game (don't try it — it'll make your head hurt, trust us). If you got your no-more-football party on, this might not be a bad time to kick back, down a hangover cure and catch up on some......

Having a speeding car crash into the side of a house is bad in any case — but when the car takes out the only staircase leading from your apartment to the ground, well, that's even worse. That's what happened to Rick Jansen this weekend when an SUV hit a pedestrian, then careened into the side of Jansen's building. Police said they first got a call about the SUV mowing down the pedestrian, who was......

Sure, the $225 million West Loop reconstruction will formally be capped off today with a ceremony at the Woodway exit, but don't make the mistake of thinking that means it'll be smooth sailing through Uptown this weekend. No sirma'am, a variety of projects on 290 and the Katy Freeway will give you plenty to plan around if you're headed out to the west side. So, here we go: 290 eastbound will be closed from 9......

Speaking of police chases, sometimes they don't involve cars. Take, for example, the case of an HPD officer who had to chase two escaped bulls last night. Yep, bulls. According to the Chronicle, the driver of a bull trailer (we're not sure if there's a technical term) was exiting from the North Loop onto the North Freeway at about 11:30 p.m. when the bulls somehow got out of their trailer. One of the bulls escaped......

A woman's body was found in a ditch near Needville this morning; police say she apparently suffered a gunshot wound An elderly woman is in serious condition today after being shot last night at a friend's house, apparently in retaliation for the friend's having reported suspicions of gang activity nearby Uhhhhh ... where are those tornadoes? Hunters Creek Village residents say the city lied to them about a street-widening project, claiming officials disregarded their vote......

Some Houstonians say pharmacists have refused to fill their prescriptions for Plan B, the super-strength birth-control pill Four suspects are in custody after an early morning police chase on the North Loop HPD Chief Harold Hurtt said a partnership between HPD and the ATF has made Houston's streets safer — at least a portion of them, anyway City Councilman Mark Goldberg suggested filing suit against owners of high-crime apartment complexes to make them install security......

Several construction projects on the Loop that may cause traffic tie-ups: The connector ramp from the East Loop northbound to I-10 (East Freeway) east- and westbound will be closed from 9 a.m. tonight until 2 a.m. Wednesday. Alternate route: exit Wallisville and U-turn. Exit ramps from the East Loop northbound to the Port of Houston and Clinton Drive will also be closed from 9 p.m. tonight until 2 a.m. Wednesday. On the South Loop, the......