Grammys
You get a new H-Town Mayor, change happens. See this from the Chron:
Houston Public Works is reversing course on the concrete median and curbs it installed on Houston Avenue in December, electing instead to remove them after less than two months.
“Houston Public Works will begin improvements along Houston Avenue starting in early February,” reads a Houston Public Works statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Axios reporter Jay R. Jordan.
“These improvements will include the removal of the concrete median and curbs on Houston Avenue that reduced lane capacity and restricted vehicles from turning into properties based on their direction of traffic. The project will effectively restore the roadway to the way it operated previously.”
The statement says this decision will benefit drivers such as first responders and bus drivers and the department will embark on a new study to see what they can do to improve safety for non-drivers.
City Council Member for District H Mario Castillo posted Friday night on X that he disagrees with the decision to remove the median curbs.
“I do not support removing the improvements along Houston Ave. If something isn’t working with the project, modify it, don’t waste taxpayer money. District CMs need to be included in these decisions. I will be fighting to ensure safety improvements return to Houston Ave. quickly,” Castillo wrote.
The decision, which was announced Friday afternoon, bookends a week that started Monday with a pick-up truck striking and killing a woman in downtown Houston and a public works leader resigning.
BikeHouston executive director Joe Cutrufo said the woman’s death is an example of the lack of safety for pedestrians in the city.
“We have a mayor who ran on public safety, and now that we’ve seen someone run over and killed three blocks from city hall, some people might expect to see more urgency from city hall,” Cutrufo said.
Commentary has always wondered what is factored into the decision making on changing the look of a street in the City of H-Town. I can talk about the intersection at Yale and 14th street that still doesn’t make sense. Or sticking those islands in the middle of Studewood. Why? Oh, well.
Stay tuned for more on Houston Avenue.
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Former Cong. Craig Washington made an appearance on What’s Your Point yesterday to endorse Amanda Edwards for congress. See the featured photo. Got it?
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Commentary watched the Grammys last night and it was most entertaining.
The Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on ”Fast Car” duet knocked it out of the park.
Joni Mitchell teared me up on “Both Sides Now,” accompanied by Brandi Carlile.
Jay-Z blasting the Grammys for never awarding Beyoncé album of the year saying, “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year.”
Miley Cyrus was great.
Billie Eilish performing “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie was superb.
It was good to see Celine Dion make an appearance.
Taylor Swift was, well, Taylor Swift. Say what you want about Taylor Swift. I was impressed with her being shown singing along to the performances of others. She obviously pays attention to the work of her fellow performers.
It was a great evening.
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The MLB regular season starts next month. Already? I wonder what this season’s slogan will be. How about #StillReady2Reign?
