Good morning, Houston. Suppose you're trying to keep up with piles and piles of government reports. How can you tell when there are too many? Simple: You ask for a report, of course. That's what the Texas State Library and Archives Commission did — and in a 668-page report, the commission has declared that the state is over-reported. The commission looked at more than 170 state agencies and universities and found more than 1,600......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like our freewheeling land-use policies have gotten some national attention: The Wall Street Journal has a story focusing on the proposed residential tower at Bissonnet and Ashby. "The condo-tower dustup is just the latest in a string of odd situations allowed by Houston's lenient land-use rules," the article explains. "Rowdy cantinas, rock-crushing operations and commercial dumps sometimes pop up in residential neighborhoods. Condo towers sprout next to schools. A pay-by-the-hour......

In the city of gas, no-zoning and laissze-faire developers, local eco-sensitive construction will get the Houstonist’s attention. So, when we recently spotted this article in Dwell Magazine, we just had to share the good news with as many Houstonians as possible. Matt and Tina Ford seem to have figured out a way to make eco-friendly design both attractive and affordable. Having built in the Houston area for a few years under their company Esplanade......

Good morning, Houston. Have you ever been lounging around on the couch, curious about how the state of Texas spends its money but frustrated because you can't hop online and find out? Well, cheer up: Now you can, thanks to a new feature on the state comptroller's website. The database allows users to search the $74.5 billion in expenditures from fiscal 2007 by agency, payee and spending category. For folks with the ability to......

It's baaaaack. We can't believe it's been nearly six months since the last installment of the MFA's kick arse series, "Movies Houstonians Love." How the heck did we cope for this long with out it? Must be those doses of Mixed Media that held us over. Tonight marks the return of a new slew of presentations of some of Houston's own professing their love for their favorite flix. This series includes flick pix from the......

Good morning, Houston. How many of you knew what Monday was? Anyone? Anyone? That's right: It was the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To mark the anniversary, the nation had a little holiday, Constitution Day — but how many people actually knew about it? Not many, apparently: Though federal law says students at public high schools should be taught about Constitution Day, a recent survey of students found that......

Good morning, Houston. We just don't understand the entertainment juggernaut (or is it "juggernette?") that is Hannah Montana: Tickets to her Nov. 11 Toyota Center show sold out in five minutes Saturday, and now they're going for as much as $1,275 on eBay — granted, that's for a set of four tickets, but still, wow. The markup through eBay and ticket brokers has left some parents shelling out big bucks to give their kids......

Good morning, Houston. As you might have noticed, we passed the night sans Humberto — but our friends in the Beaumont area weren't so lucky. The sudden hurricane made landfall early this morning and battered Beaumont with winds up to 62 mph and Orange with gusts of up to 85 mph, the Chron's Eric Berger reports. From across Southeast Texas came reports of knee-deep water, downed power lines and damaged buildings, including an apartment......

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......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor MadeIn1984. Kersplat! It's the start of another school year and it looks like this guy has had his last hurrah! HISD schools are back in session as of today, so please watch those school zones, slow down and watch out for the kiddos! If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 360 of Houston's best photographers in......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Good morning, Houston. It's back to the books for many area students this week, although HISD won't begin until August 27. Many local private schools have already started classes, and many will start up again this week, and many colleges will begin class this week as well. Although the temperatures are still pretty summer-y, these next couple of weeks have that end-of-August, book-reports-due feel to them. >> Hurricane + no tax = shopping!: Stories......

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......

Good morning, Houston. It's August, and that means hurricane season is starting to get heavy. The country's got fins to the left and fins to the right, so to speak. As of last night, Tropical Storm Dean was crossing the open Atlantic with winds at 50 mph, while Tropical Depression #5 had put part of the Texas coast under a tropical storm watch. And over in the Pacific, Hawaii's dealing with Hurricane Flossie. Time......

Good morning, Houston. If you'd like a little more Kinky in your life, you may be in luck. Erstwhile gubernatorial candidate and the bane of Chris Bell's existence Kinky Friedman said he might make another run for the office in 2010. This time, though, he's thinking about losing the independent label and running as a Democrat. Consultant Kelly Fero said, "They're going to be looking for real serious, legitimate candidates. Kinky should throw his......

HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra announced Thursday that the district needs an $805 million bond issue this November to repair and replace aging schools — but the HISD trustees are expected to vote next Thursday on whether to put the issue on the ballot. Think that isn't much time to learn the details of a pretty big amount of money? You're not the only one: "I'm concerned about the timeline," school board member Greg Meyers told......

The results are in and Texas tops the charts in births to girls aged 15 - 19. The Anne E. Casey Foundation publishes KIDS COUNT study annually but these results are based on figures from 2004. State law requires that abstinence be emphasized during sex education classes in schools. However, local jurisdictions are able to plot their own course with delivery method (of the class, not the babies) and amount of information conveyed. The......

A UT study says that obese girls are only half as likely to go to college as young women who are not obese, reports the Chronicle. The study, which also tracked boys (in whom no correlation between educational choices and weight was found), studied over ten thousand kids over the course of several years. Statistics were adjusted for other factors known to affect college attendance in previous studies, such as income level and ethnicity.......

Good morning, Houston. Were you one of the folks who lined up Friday to pick up an iPhone? And have you gotten it activated yet? If so, you're lucky: A lot of people are having trouble getting their shiny new toys activated, and until they do, none of the so-called Jesus phone's features — not even its alarm clock — will work. Though most customers have been able to activate their phones in a......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. What is that bright, shiny yellow orb up in the sky? And why is there a slinky gray thing following me around? The bright, shiny yellow orb is called “the sun.” It’s always above us during the day, but we haven’t been able to see it for some time. Enjoy it while you can because sources say the sun will be gone again......

Even as the TAKS could be on its way out, state education officials announced Monday that measures will be put in place next year to curb cheating on the standardized test. The anti-cheating measures come after allegations of cheating and concerns over students not graduating because they failed the test — and we can't help but think that those problems go hand in hand. "As the stakes surrounding testing have become higher, some have questioned......

Trying to Change the World... One Blog at a Time picked up on a story that Houstonist wrote about yesterday: three HISD schools that were in jeopardy of being shut down. He raised a lot of the perennial good points about the problems with public education in America and increasing class stratification and questioned the notion that underperforming schools should be shut down. A good, thoughtful post from one of Houstonist's favorite readers and local......

We know what you're thinking. You've looked at the accompanying photo and have already written off this post as crap. You're wrong. Liquor stores close at 9 PM. You probably haven't given that much thought except for the occassions when you desparately needed another bottle of Hypnotiq, Jaegermeister or some other item only available at a booze shop. We know the feeling. Try hosting a kegger without a functioning tap only to arrive in......

There is no word from HISD yet on whether three schools, Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School, will open again next fall. HISD officials wouldn't discuss the issue, saying only that they're they're waiting on the Texas Education Agency to analyze students' test scores and decide whether or not these three campuses are "academically acceptable." The high schools are both located in north Houston, while McReynolds is east of downtown, just off......

Good morning, Houston. When we hear the words "concrete canoe," two other words come to mind: "doesn't float." But our instincts are wrong: Concrete canoes can be seaworthy, and one created by University of Houston engineering students floats so well that it's headed for the national concrete canoe competition in Seattle. The national contest is set for mid-June, and it could lead the team to a spot in the international competition in Holland in......

In order to maintain a sense of order during the last week of school, HISD has banned the bringing of backpacks to school at the following campus'. Those miscreants trying to have fun will have to find some other means of smuggling silly string into class - or packing heat, whichever the case may be. Fortunately, duffel bags and gym bags were not mentioned in the article we read, just saying. Houstonist was particularly amused......

If there's one thing we love, it's a good political faux pas. Houston Rep. Ted Poe delivered for us when he quoted a KKK leader on the House floor, and the entire blogosphere threw up a little bit in its mouth. You can view the video of Poe's comments here. According to Wikipedia, Nathan Bedford Forrest, whom Poe quoted, was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, but he is remembered largely for......

Art Car Weekend kicks off tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at the Art Car Museum with an assist from neighboring Aurora Picture Show. Shop Talk! - Dynamic Art Car Presentations is FREE and open to the public! Part of Heights Boulevard will be closed to through traffic and art cars will be parked on the street for your viewing pleasure. The cars will have illuminary-like very special effects and such - like, say a disco ball,......

Good morning, Houston. Ever been to Podunk, Texas? You have if you've ever visited the east Houston neighborhood of Denver Harbor, which was affectionately called Podunk during the Great Depression because it was then far enough east to seem semi-rural. And as of yesterday, thanks to a state House resolution, Podunk is the Official Mythical Town of Texas. Grady got the resolution passed by gathering 700 signatures on a petition and persuading the area's......

A 16-year-old student who has admitted to setting the fire that destroyed part of Needville High School on April 13 is expected to turn himself in to authorities today — and it looks like we're already getting a taste of what his defense will be. The teen, whose name has not been released, spent a couple of hours yesterday talking with Fort Bend County investigators about his role in the fire, which destroyed the school's......