Dumb Idea
Happy Birthday today to the Honorable Beth Arnold. I have known Beth for 30 years. She is one of my favorite people on this planet. Beth serves as an Associate Judge for the 247th State District Court. Happy Birthday, Beth!
_____
H-Town’s East End leadership was blindsided yesterday. See this social media post by State Sen. Carol Alvarado:
Outraged to learn that the Greyhound Bus terminal that has been located in the Midtown area for years, is moving to the #EastEnd in the heart of #SD6. I have yet to find an elected official or member of the East End community who was notified about this move. The Midtown location was a nuisance hotspot & we don’t want that trend to continue in the East End. My office is contacting Greyhound, City of #Houston & law enforcement officials to ensure the safety of our community.
Here is from the Chron:
Downtown Houston’s much-maligned Greyhound bus terminal will be empty Thursday, as the bus operator shifts service to an East End location.
Greyhound on Tuesday confirmed all buses will operate out of the 7000 Harrisburg location, near 69th Street, effective Nov. 30. The location will have 24-hour self-serve ticket sales for buses bound for New Orleans and Dallas, but also mean the nation’s largest intercity bus company no longer serves the downtown of the fourth-largest city.
“The Houston market remains one of the most important in the country for Greyhound,” Gilda Brewton, regional vice president for Greyhound, said in a statement. “The Harrisburg Boulevard location will enable us to continue to provide convenient and affordable bus travel for Houstonians and those (who) live in the surrounding area.”
The downtown location, 2121 Main St., has been the terminal of intercity bus transit for decades, at least since 1990 when service at another hub on Texas Avenue east of the central business district ceased.
During that time, however, it also sowed controversy as one of a handful of locations in the city with the most police responses and some high-profile crimes such as a 2011 standoff that injured two police and led the suspect to shoot himself dead.
As development between the central business and Midtown converged, developers sought the site for potential changes, with many saying the bus depot’s days were numbered.
The East End location, meanwhile, retains some of the connections often critical for bus travelers. The station is at the end of Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Green Line light rail, and steps from the Magnolia Park Transit Center. A handful of smaller bus carriers, many serving Mexico, operate in the vicinity.
Outrageous to say the least. Commentary is very familiar with this part of town. It is a vibrant community with a lot of retail activity. H-Town City Hall being caught off guard on this is unacceptable. City Hall dropped the ball on this for sure.
A dumb idea. Sad.
_____
I saw this on next door yesterday:
Don’t waste your time going to the Walgreens on Montrose @ Hawthorne for a vaccine shot. I had a 3:00 appt today for the new Covid vaccine, arrived 15 minutes early, checked in and was totally ignored. After checking several times about when I might get my shot, I walked out at 3:30 and had to interrupt the pharmacist to tell her I was leaving. No wonder Walgreens stock has tanked.
This person hasn’t been following the Walgreens pharmacists’ issues. They have been complaining over the past few months that they are overworked. Vaccine demand is up, and they also have to fill out prescriptions.
In early October, I went to that same Walgreens to get my flu and COVID vaccines at the same time and had a similar experience. I didn’t think twice about the wait. Oh, well.
_____
I saw this on the Daily Beast:
Tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the annual tree lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Center Wednesday night were instead met with a group of several hundred pro-Palestine demonstrators who swarmed the area. Several fights broke out and a number of arrests were made, according to Deadline, as the crowd of rabble-rousers moved from the nearby News Corp. building at 47th Street and 6th Avenue and attempted to move towards the tree. They were stopped by a line of police. Visitors who wanted to see the tree were also blocked by police, with the New York Post claiming a number of tourists “routinely jeered” at the protesters. “I had planned my holiday around this event, being a big fan of Christmas … Their strategy for sympathy is disruption, but all they’ll get out of me is a big f**k you,” U.K. visitor Jamie Fry told the outlet. The number of arrests is unclear and the tree lighting ceremony, which was televised by NBC, went ahead as planned.
The featured photo is from my flat screen last night as the tree was lit. It was a great program. Kelly Clarkson can sure sing. All the performances were outstanding including Cher, Katharine McPhee, Chloe Bailey, Liz Gillies, Seth MacFarlane, Barry Manilow, Keke Palmer, and Manuel Turizo.
_____
Day 3 of early voting in the City of H-Town runoff is in the books. A good chunk of mail ballots was posted yesterday. Go vote, please.
