Good morning, Houston. If you've walked — or driven — downtown or in Midtown lately, chances are you've noticed the fancy new "countdown signals," which flash the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross an intersection before traffic lights change. They'll soon be installed at more than 300 intersections in neighborhoods with high amounts of pedestrian traffic, including the Medical Center; though they cost $1.3 million to put up, officials say the efficient LED......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been to Rich's, the dance club in midtown, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the crowd there Saturday was sporting "feather boas, glittering hair accessories, sparkling dresses and tutus." But exactly who was in the crowd might take you by surprise: It was a bunch of kids there for Baby Loves Disco, part of a national series of dance events that benefit childhood cancer research. (In......

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......

Remember earlier this year, when the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration began a probe into dozens of dead dolphins that had washed up on Southeast Texas beaches? Well, several months into the investigation, the NOAA hasn't figured out what killed the dolphins — and officials say they're unlikely to find an answer. Nearly 70 dolphins washed ashore on beaches in Galveston and Jefferson counties, at least 60 of them in March — a sharp upturn......

So it rained a lot yesterday, and it looks like we're not going to get much of a break today. Or tomorrow. Or — well, actually, it's looking like the rail will continue for at least the next seven days. The bright spot in all this is that the rain may hold off for the big fireworks show Wednesday night: "We have seen, the last four or five days, rain in the morning and rain......

Milk. It's one of those things we rarely give much thought to — but then we read about how rising milk prices are driving the cost of all dairy-based products up. In fact, according to an expert at the Department of Agriculture, the price of milk-based ingredients used in cheese, ice cream and pizza has gone up by as much as 60 percent in the past year, which means those products end up costing consumers......

So we're three-quarters of the way through June — and in case you haven't noticed, it's powerful warm out there. But is it really hotter this June than it has been in previous years? As a matter of fact, it is, reports the Chronicle's Eric Berger: The temperatures so far this month have been two degrees above normal, and it looks like that's not going to change this weekend, when the skies are expected to......

2nd Annual Blondes vs. Brunettes Powder Puff Game Sports? It’s not exactly their thing. Sure, their hand-eye coordination is superb – when it comes to painting their toenails. But when it comes to fundraising, these women never fumble. Over 40 of Houston’s most talented, energetic, intelligent and, not to mention, beautiful women will put their game face on for the Second Annual Blondes vs. Brunettes flag football fundraiser which benefits the Alzheimer’s Association, Houston......

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has launched a special investigation into the unusually high number of dead dolphins that have washed up on Southeast Texas beaches this year, the AP reports. We talked last week about the dolphin problem: As of last Tuesday, 35 bottlenose dolphins had washed up on Galveston County beaches since January, 26 of them in March. Overall, at least 60 dolphins have been found beached in Galveston and Jefferson counties......

Good morning, Houston! If you leave the house this morning, expect wrecks everywhere — the freezing rain and freezing bridges everyone's been talking about finally hit last night. If we were TV news, we'd have one of those flashy "Winter Storm" graphics and some super-serious music — but we're not, so: >> The ice cometh, man: Basically, here's the situation: It's cold and people are crashing into each other all over the city. Road......

In case you hadn't picked up on it, Houstonians aren't accustomed to wintry weather. Anytime the temperature drops below 60, people start pulling out their parkas; if a few snowflakes fall, we all run outside, furiously snapping photos and trying to build snowmen (turns out you can't actually make a snowman out of five snowflakes — but we sure as hell tried). All harmless, right? Sure, until it gets icy — then all bets......

Houstonist loves the fall in Southeast Texas. There’s a slight nip in the normally muggy air, the leaves are changing and college football is heating up like the livingroom fireplace. Let’s not forget the weeks of delicious roasted turkey and pumpkin pie. We could do without Aunt Millie’s bearded kisses and Grandpa’s pipe, but somehow it all goes together. To make the games more cheerful, the pie more tasty and the kisses more tolerable, we......

Hoist a pint, go home with a hound (aye-chihuahua)- or thinking of rescuing one. The Ginger Man Pub is the place to be on November 11th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., especially if you are interested in Animal Rescue. Besides, what goes better with a pint of your favorite beer, ale or lager than, (yep - that tired old line - again) a warm fuzzy! The sad fact is that some people dump......

Texans Game - Pretty hispanic woman It was after the game, as we were walking down the ramp, when you caught my eye. You: Pretty, hispanic, wearing all black, yellow and white Texans wristband on the right arm, Black and White Checkerboard pattern purse. Hit me up. We are always curious about the degree of charm absent in MC posts. "Hit me up" is about as charming as, well... it's just not charming. Flight......

When Southeast Texas schools took in 22,000 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, the federal government promised it would reimburse the schools for most of the cost of educating the kids. But it seems the government isn't holding up its end of the deal yet: Karen Soehnge, the chief academic officer for the Houston school district, said the U.S. Department of Education had assured the district it would be reimbursed for 90 percent of the costs......