...for demolitionToday, Houston City Council voted to designate the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater, Alabama Shopping Center, and Alabama Theater as historic landmarks, though it will not afford the structures any protection from Weingarten Realty's current and future decisions to demolish them. According to Historic Houston, there were three dissenting votes from council members Michael Berry (big surprise), Addie Wiseman (who tagged this measure last week), and Pam Holm. Save Our Landmarks invites......

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......

As expected, City Council delayed a vote on expanding the city's smoking ban at its meeting yesterday — and with councilmembers divided between a variety of proposals, it's anyone's guess how the vote will go when it's actually taken. Mayor Bill White, who supports a smoking ban at all enclosed workplaces with exceptions for cigar shops, certain meeting rooms, private functions and a handful of other situations, said things are close: "I think the majority......

It's time to clear your mind of all the problems you think the city has and focus on the real public menace: downtown newspaper racks in various colors and materials. What's that? They're not a public hazard? Well, don't tell that to City Council, which has a revised proposal to clamp down on dilapidated, poorly constructed, abandoned and non-green news racks in the central business district. According to KHOU, downtown boosters have complained about......

Despite criticism from people who claim it would put more of a burden on the already stressed Houston police department, police say a 10 p.m. juvenile curfew would actually make things easier for them — in part because a city curfew ordinance doesn't mean officers have to arrest kids who are out past curfew. The proposal for a 10 p.m. curfew for kids under 17 got the approval of a City Council committee last week,......

So if you fly out of Hobby Airport often, you might want to take note of the $3 fee on each ticket you might have to start paying later this year. It's a charge City Council approved yesterday to put the burden of extreme budget overruns off on the traveling public. Yep, that's right: You, too, will have the privilege of helping finance the Hobby renovation and expansion project. Southwest Airlines, the major carrier......