Houston Blogs: Houston Political Blog

Pricy parking garage springs a leak

There could be a problem just below one of Houston's favorite new downtown spots. The multi-million dollar parking garage below Discovery Green has sprung a leak.

The new park in the heart of downtown is the pride of several city leaders, but what's just below the park could be an expensive mistake. The simple answer for now is that city leaders simply don't know if they've got a serious problem on their hands, or a minor nuisance.

The water playground is one of the most popular spots at Discovery Green. While getting wet is part of the fun above ground, what's happening just underneath Discovery could be a major problem.

"I haven't heard anything about the garage," said park visitor Don White. "First time I'm down here."

Story continues belowAdvertisementTo put it simply, the brand new, $21 million parking garage right below the park leaks. The garage is a crucial component of the $120 million Discovery Green Park. This potential problem was brought to light by a city council member, who because of the sensitive nature of this issue, wouldn't speak to us on camera.

Discovery Green Park Director Guy Hagstatte says the dripping and potential rusting are being looked into. "We're absolutely investigating everything," he said.

The leaking has certainly gotten the city's attention. It's even hired an outside firm to find out what went wrong with the parking garage. Right now all anyone can tell Eyewitness News is that there definitely is a problem.

"There were concerns expressed, and this was early in the year," Hagstatte said. "The city felt the best way to address those concerns was to get someone outside the process to come in and take an objective look at it."

Hagstatte points this most garages have some water, and this particular garage was designed to be damp. So while the city investigates whether the water underground could lead to bigger problems, above ground, no one seems to notice.

"I wasn't aware of that," said park visitor Raquel Rodriguez. "I wasn't even aware that there was a garage." Meanwhile, things are business as usual at Discovery Green, but there a lot of people investigating the potential problem.

SEE THE VIDEO REPORT

Outstanding in their field...

We are still working out some kinks, thanks for your patience!

Every year, the Houston Jaycees honors "Five Outstanding Young Houstonians."  And usually, the event has a bit of a political bent.  This year was no exception.  Among the five winners, two have distinct political connections, and plenty of politicians came out to show their support.  Council member James Rodriguez, who is well below the "39" age limit, gathered six tables of family and friends to show their support.  Rodriguez is a former Astros bat boy turned elected official.  Showing support included Mayor Bill White, as well as fellow council members Toni Lawrence, Mike Sullivan, Melissa Noriega, and Peter Brown.

Another honoree is not a politician, per se, but she is married to one.  Melissa King, who wore a splashy orange dress, is married to former-mayor-future-mayoral-candidate Bill King.  They brought their buddy Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to town to up the political wattage.  A former Jaycees president now turned State Rep. Bill Murphy gave a nice speech about service, dedication, hard work, and such. County Judge Ed Emmett, Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Carol Alvarado, HISD board member Gregg Meyers, and a few others also hung out.  There was a nice balance of Republicans and Democrats, and most of the conversation stayed away from the touchy subjects of politics.  Still, with King planning his race for Mayor, Rodriguez thinking about his future, and a whole list of elected officials around... there was plenty of gossip..... 

Catching up!

Catching up…

Dear Blog readers, we've had IT stuff working out on the blog side, so blogging has been slow! My apologies!  A few thing have happened in the last week or so, and it’s time to catch up!

Council member Adrian Garcia had a good week.  He’s still way behind sheriff Tommy Thomas in the campaign war chest department, but he’s winning the public relations battle.  All three of the deputies’ unions have decided to back Garcia.  It’s the first time all three unions have endorsed one guy, and the first time they have endorsed someone OTHER than their current boss.   It’s a fairly big coup for Garcia’s campaign.  However, the campaign’s decision to hold the news conference at the ship channel was a little odd.  I know the message they were trying to get through.. that deputies are the first line of defense in any sort of outside attacks.  However, a more instantly recognizable backdrop, like in front of the county jail, would have been more effective.

On the City Council front, the news that Terence Fontaine, one of the Mayor’s Deputy Chiefs of Staff, is running for City Council is interesting.  Mainly, Fontaine has floated the idea that he wanted to run for Mayor.  But, running for Mayor is expensive, and you need a really good network of funding sources.  Fontaine, who’s done a lot of work the last couple of years under Mayor White, is going to run for At Large 4, Council Member Ronald Green’s seat.  He should have a decent shot, and the money requirements for a council race is much more manageable.

Sticking with City Council, James Rodriguez will be recognized as one of the Five Outstanding Young Houstonians this week.  The honor is bestowed by the Jaycees every year, and fellow winner this year also includes Melissa King, wife of future mayoral candidate Bill King.

Finally, a shout out to Susan Christian, the Deputy Director of Special Events.  She was honored over the weekend by the International Society of Special Events (ISES) for all the work she’s done relating to civic events throughout the city.  Christian is the woman who runs every parade, every public gathering, and of course, that spectacular Fourth of July celebration every year.  Congrats Susan.

What did Bush say at Olson Fundraiser?

The President's folks didn't let the press in, but we got some exclusive video of POTUS talking up a storm at Pete Olson's fundraiser on July 18th.  Click and take a look.  transcript below the link.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

Wall Street got drunk, it got drunk, (it’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off your tv cameras.) It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover.  The question is how long will it sober up, and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments. 

And now we got a housing issue, not in Houston, and evidently, not in Dallas, because Laura was over there trying to buy a house today. (laugher.. Crawford!)

I like Crawford, unfortunately after eight years of asking her  to sacrifice, I’m now no longer the decision maker.  She’ll be deciding, thanks for the suggestion!    I suggest you don’t yell it out when she’s here.  Later, telling her “Hey honey, we’ve been on government pay now for 14 years... so go slow!" 

It’s uh.. caused me to lose my train of thought. Anyway.

The entire video runs about 2 minutes, the portion with the President runs just around a minute.

What did Bush say at Olson Fundraiser?

Check back on the blog in a bit!  We'll have the scoop on what President Bush said during the Pete Olson Fundraiser on Friday. 

Chris Bell Runs for Senate

Last night, in front of a group of friends, Former Council Member, Congressman, candidate for Mayor, candidate for Governor, kicked off his latest campaign.  He's running for former State Sen. Kyle Janek's seat.  Bell will be up against several Republicans, including Blakemore's candidate Austen Furse.  Here's Bell's re-intro-duction-introduction.

Chris Bell Runs for Senate

Last night, in front of a group of friends, Former Council Member, Congressman, candidate for Mayor, candidate for Governor, kicked off his latest campaign.  He's running for former State Sen. Kyle Janek's seat.  Bell will be up against several Republicans, including Blakemore's candidate Austen Furse.  Here's Bell's re-intro-duction-introduction.

Scenes from the Informal Criminal Hearing.

With members of Congress Sheila Jackson-Lee and John Conyers present, it was a packed room at City Hall on Friday.  At issue:  the problems at the Harris County Sheriff's Department, the County Jail, and the District Attorney's office.  Will anything happen?  Who knows. But here are a few images.

Scenes from the Informal Criminal Hearing.

With members of Congress Sheila Jackson-Lee and John Conyers present, it was a packed room at City Hall on Friday.  At issue:  the problems at the Harris County Sheriff's Department, the County Jail, and the District Attorney's office.  Will anything happen?  Who knows. But here are a few images.

Jackson Lee, Conyers take over City Hall

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers will spearhead a special meeting at City Hall today. It'll focus on the Harris County judicial system, including offensive e-mails circulated among the Harris County sheriff's office.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee told Eyewitness News earlier this month, why she wants these hearings.
"I am demanding direct answers to the many questions surround the Horn incident, derogatory emails being circulated in the Harris County sheriff's office, years of Harris County mishandling of DNA evidence and the deteriorating conditions at the Harris County jail," she said

Jackson Lee has been a leading critic of the Harris County Sheriff's Dept. and the jail it runs.  She's already held several news conferences on the issue. Oh, and she's very familiar with City Hall, having been a city council member previously.  Now, some are wondering, does Jackson Lee like City Hall enough to come back permanently?  Maybe a shot at that seat in the middle? Hmm...