Inside Today: Parents adjust schedules, lives for on-time children • Page 6B PREMIER PROPERTIES
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THURSDAY | December 20, 2012 | Vol. 59 | No. 8 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
Washington gets relief, just not soon
THE BRIEFS. sponsored by
'REAT 'IFT )DEAS "EAUTIFUL &LORAL !RRANGEMENTS
s ’ e n e l r a D
290 & 610
The nightmare of improvements
&LOWER 'IFT 3HOP
10570 NW Frwy • 713-680-2350
A Must-Read
Kids say the darndest things, right? You haven’t seen anything yet. If you’ve never read a newspaper full of Letters to Santa, today’s your lucky day. In the second section of today’s Leader, we asked children from elementary schools in this area to share their holiday wish-list, and did they ever. From books, to iPads, to cruise ships to, apparently, an X-ray machine, the youngsters in our community give you reason to pause and laugh a little this week.
Pages 1-4B
Whether it’s concerns over the noise from elevated lanes, or businesses that have closed their doors, the improvements to U.S. 290 and IH 610 are not without their problems. (Photo by Jake Dukate)
Residents ready to file suit
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Leader announces holiday deadlines In an effort to give our staff time with their families, The Leader’s deadlines will change for the next two weeks. For the Dec. 27 edition, the deadline for advertising will be at noon on Thursday, Dec. 20. The deadline for all news copy will be 5 p.m. on Dec. 20. For the Jan. 3 edition, advertising deadlines will be 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28. News submissions will have the same deadline. After the Jan. 3 edition, The Leader will then move its publication date to Saturdays, beginning with the Jan. 12 edition. Readers and advertisers will receive more information on that in two weeks.
THE INDEX. Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2A 3A 4A 7A 6A 4A 9A 5B
Some stores won’t make it
by Michael Sudhalter news@theleadernews.com
by Ivee Sauls ivee@theleadernews.com
TheTexasD epartmentof Transportation (TxD O T) Houston D ivision had plenty of schematicsand mapswhen it hosted a public meeting last week regarding the U.S. H wy. 290 Interim D esign Phase Project – but that wasn’t the focus of most of the 250 in attendance. The complaints raised by local residents had little to do with the roads, but rather the noise that a total of 29 elevated lanes/H O V lanes(including managed lanes/ H O V lanes) would create for the community. “This was a waste of time for people to come out here and Carol Caul complain,”Timbergrove resident Ben C rabb said.“TxD O T has turned a deaf ear to us on our complaintsabout sound from D ay 1.They’ve said‘Yes,your sound levels are going to get worse, and no, we’re not going to do anything about it’.” C rabb isone of 10 plaintiffsin a lawsuit fi led in M arch 2011 in federal court by H ouston attorney C arol C aul.
M any of the businessesbetween M angum and 34th Street are feeling the effects of the TXD O T: U S 290 C onstruction Project. Al’sFormalWear,once located at 11290 Northwest Freeway, is“closed forever”, said a store associate at the Bunker H ill location. The M anhattan Life Building, located at 10700 Northwest Freeway,isalso closed and relocated to 10777 NorthwestFreeway.A voicemail recording for the offi ce of the Special O lympics,which wasalso located in the building, indicates that the offi ce hasalso relocated to Bob Domec this new address. Peter Bergman, PC , former tenant of the M anhattan Life Building,has moved his law offi ce to 10500 Northwest Freeway. “It’s a lot different than the offi ce I was in before,” he said. Bergman said the M anhattan Life building wasa fabulous. “I loved that building.I almost cried when we had to move out
see Lawsuit • Page 8A
see Business • Page 8A
by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com Businessownersand residentsalong the Washington Avenue C orridor will be receiving formal written notices any day now that they’re part of an 18month pilotParking Benefi tD istrictapproved last week,15-2,by H ouston C ity C ouncil to better regulate traffi c and parking and to produce revenue to provide improvementsin the area.But –by design, to allow an orderly transition – it will be months before the district is actually fully operational with parking meters,parking for employees,and permits issued to residentswho want them. The city has 10 daysto notify those “... It is critical that affected – located we balance the in a wide swath needs of residents, extending from business owners Westcott Street on and patrons.” thewestto Houston Avenue,bordering • Ellen Cohen downtown, on the Houston City Council east,and one block District C on either side of Washington Avenue. The plan, which will install 350 metersalong Washington Avenue’spopular entertainment district byApril2013, is designed to help business owners, their patronsand employeesand nearby residentsco-exist more comfortably. Instead of cruising Washington and adjacent residential streetsfor parking, patronswillsoon fi nd metered parking, which will cost $1 an hour daytime and $2 an hour at night,with the option for a nightlong pass for $7. Each address is eligible to apply for one parking permit for an annual fee of $25. The city has encouraged businesses in the district to work out arrangementswith ownersof parking lots and garages in the area to secure parking for employees. That had been one major point of contention, with both businesses and residents complaining that employees frequently took most of the prime spots,and employersconcerned about where they fi t into the new district’s parking scheme. The pilot was devised after a long process involving stakeholders who have been dealing with the problem
see Washington • Page 8A
Scouts honor Mildred Gandin for 60 years of service by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Sitting in a pew at St.Stephen’s UnitedMethodistC hurchonSunday,O ak Forest resident M ildred G andin was surprised to hear her name called. In front of the congregation,she waspresented with the Silver Torch Award, a U M C recognition to mark her 60 years of service to Boy Scouts of America. “Very few people earn the Silver Torch award. It’s a national honor,”said U M C Scouting C oordinator Larry Lanz.“M ildred
has quite a resume.” It is the resume of a woman whose volunteer path in Boy Scouts was perhaps inevitable. With three sons and a husband, Bill, who received his own Silver Torch award a couple years back,M ildred was always an unabashed supporter of Scouting. As Bill G andin tells it,M ildred was a tomboy who had to keep up with her two brothers.O ne of those brotherswasin RO TC with Bill at Reagan H igh School and invited him home one day for a snack. M ildred and her sisters were in attendance.
“I came in and there were three beautiful young ladies on the sofa. I made up my mind about M ildred right then,” Bill said. “We walked to school together,” M ildred conceded. “I was having too much fun being a student for a while.” Soon inseparable,theymarried seven monthsafter Pearl H arbor but had to part ways when Bill enlisted in the Army to serve in the Army Air C orps, stationed both in SantaAna,C alif.,and Roswell, N .M .
see Gandin • Page 8A
Scouting is just a way of life for Mildred and Bill Gandin. Mildred was honored with the prestigious Silver Torch Award last week. (Photo by Betsy Denson)