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,......

::Ken Burns' The War at the Wortham Center:: How did you spend your Veteran's Day? Did you fly a flag? Did you hug a Vet? No? Well, here's your last chance at redemption. If you missed Ken Burns' World War II Series, The War, on PBS a few months back, you can catch it again tonight at the Wortham Center, as Burns is on hand to screen and discuss the series. Burns' works are......

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......

Good morning, Houston. You might not remember it, but many local beaches used to be much wider than they are now — and soon, they'll be that wide again, thanks to a multimillion-dollar restoration project that's going to be announced today. The project will widen three miles of eroded beaches west of the Seawall in Galveston, Sylvan Beach in La Porte and other beaches in Surfside; the goal is to combat the erosion that's......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor renegadebuddha. The P-51 Mustang was a long range fighter aircraft that served the bulk of its duty over the European skies in World War II. It's last missions flown for the U.S. were in 1968 as helicopter escorts. The P-51 was still operational as late as the 1980's in the Dominican Republic Air Force. If you have a passion for Houston......

Good morning, Houston. Are you registered to vote? Do you need to make changes to your registration? Better take care of it fast: Today is the last day to register or alter your registration if you want to vote in the Nov. 6 elections. Voters in 34 jurisdictions will elect candidates this year, and the state has 16 bond issues on the ballot — and, of course, there are big-ticket items like HISD's $805......

Good morning, Houston. Yeah, we remember how (relatively) mild the first part of the summer was, and we're grateful for that. But now, after weeks of oppressive heat, we're sick of the weather — so you can imagine how excited we were when we checked out the long-range forecast and saw highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s coming in early September. But it might not come as early as......

With vivid colors and stylized storylines, anime has amassed a worldwide cult following. This contemporary Asian animation genre has its origins in Japanese manga comics, and the MFAH presents a sampling to accompany the MFAH exhibition RED HOT — Asian Art Today from the Chaney Family Collection (now through Oct 21st). Featured are a family favorite from South Korea distributed by the Houston-based company ADV Films, plus two instant classics from Japan. Tonight's Film......

Jack Valenti, the long-time head of the Motion Picture Association of America and Houston native passed away today at his home in Washington. He was 85 and still suffering the effects of a stroke he had in March. Valenti was born in Houston to Sicilian immigrants in 1921, growing up on the still unpaved streets of the 1st Ward. He traced his love of movies to a string of jobs working in downtown Houston movie......

Yes, we know Houston doesn't boast the famous haunted places some of our sister -ists do — London, for example, where you can hardly turn around without running into some long since beheaded spirit (or, for that matter, spirits). But still, in the spirit of the season, we combed the Interweb and found some local haunted sites, some of which you might have heard of and some you might not know about. So steel your......

So it's hard to find a drive-in theater these days, but you can still watch a movie outside if you're in the mood: This weekend, the Miller Outdoor Theatre is showing two classic movies for free. It sure beats rolling your Zenith console TV out into the back yard. Tonight and Saturday the movie is Casablanca, the 1942 classic story of love and political intrigue in North Africa on the eve of World War II.......

If it's true that celebrity deaths happen in threes, look for another local political figure to keel over at any moment: The first two, Harris County Treasurer Jack Cato and former U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, have paved the way. Cato, a former newsman and HPD spokesman, died yesterday of heart failure while undergoing tests on his heart at St. Luke's Hospital. Cato was born in Chicago in 1935 and came to Houston in the 1950s.......

Celebrate the career of famed movie director William Wyler this weekend as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston shows Directed by William Wyler, a documentary about Wyler's work, and five of his classic films: Roman Holiday, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Westerner, Ben-Hur and The Collector. Directed by William Wyler explores his movie career through clips and interviews with his cohorts, including Billy Wilder, Bette Davis, Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier and Audrey......

Houstonist's slide down the slippery slope of yuletide spirit was interrupted this morning by a delightful passage in the Chronicle's profile of George Tims, a 90-year-old Salvation Army bell ringer: Christmas was moving in fast at the big box store. The mercury hunkered in the 30s — cold enough to make your nose drip — and a nasty wind knifed in from the north. Faces showed strain. Parking gridlock reigned. Peace and goodwill? Oh, ho,......