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Inside Today: A local gift guide from our area stores • Page 3B PREMIER PROPERTIES

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THE BRIEF.

Move over Turkey

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Molina’s ﬁlls its traditional tamales with pork butt.

Tamales hot for the holidays 'REAT 'IFT )DEAS "EAUTIFUL &LORAL !RRANGEMENTS

s ’ e n e l r a D

&LOWER 'IFT 3HOP

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Heights event will help recycle computers The city of Houston and Compucycle will sponsor electronic waste recycling from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Center Street Recycling Center, 3602 Center St., near Washington Avenue and Heights Boulevard. Acceptable items are computers and accessories, printers and toner cartridges, fax machines and other oﬃce equipment, television sets with up to 27-inch screens, stereo equipment, phones and cellphones, electric clocks and clock radios, small kitchen appliances, personal care appliances such as hair care items and shavers and electric fans. The goal is to keep these item out of landﬁlls, where they are capable of leaking toxic substances, or retrieving rare trace minerals from some. For the complete list of what can be recycled, go to http:// www.compucycle.net/residential- recycling/products-we-accept.

by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com With their long-established MexicanAmerican families woven into the fabric of life, Greater Heights neighborhoods have informally included tamales as part of their holidays for as long as anyone can remember. “It’s a family tradition in our culture,” explains Monica Morales, whose family has operated the homestyle Andy’s Café on 11th Street in the Heights since 1977. “It’s more than just about the food.” But in recent years – no one can really

pinpoint when exactly – Houston’s many diverse cultures have embraced the humble corn-husk wrapped staple as a part of their holidays, too. From authentic lard-based, pork-filled hand-rolled treats to mass produced tubes made with vegetable shortenings and more health-conscious fillings and an occasional sweet dessert variety, hundreds of thousands of tamales will become the stuff of office parties, family meals – and even gift-giving – over the next few weeks. For Morales, the business has already been steady, beginning post-Thanksgiving. Andy’s has hired a tamale-maker to

turn out dozens of tamales autenticos daily – the real thing with the masa dough made with lard (rendered pork fat), corn meal, broth, spices and slow-roasted shredded pork, artfully wrapped in a corn husk and steamed into a neat little packet that many eat with their fingers, one after another. Cost is $9 a dozen. “They’re addictive,” said Morales. Just a few blocks away is the version more typical of mass audience tamales. Berryhill’s Baja Grill, also on 11th Street, started out in 1928 as a simple tamale cart that of-

Some kids just get it

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WHAT: Claire School of Dance Presents New York Nutcracker WHEN: Dec. 16, 2 p.m. WHERE: 2401 Claremont Lane HOW MUCH: $15 for adults; $10 for children LEARN MORE: (713) 880-5565 EDITOR’S TAKE: We’ve all seen the classic version on The Nutcracker during the holidays. Isn’t it time to change things up this year? This event, with some special guest artists and local dancers, is a modern version of the ballet. It uses the Duke Ellington musical arrangement and the storyline of “Eloise at Christmas.” Better yet, there are only so many things the entire family will enjoy together, and this is one of them.

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hen it comes time for photographing little ones with Santa, you never know if you’re going to get an ahh-inspiring keepsake or a grotesque shot of torture as the tyke is plopped on the lap of the oddly dressed older man whose face is masked by heavy white hair. Mindy Switzer admits she “got lucky” Saturday morning when she took 7-month-old son Benjamin Klich to the Oak Forest Homeowners Association’s Breakfast with Santa at Candlelight Community Center. After a few moments’ hesitation, Benjamin warmed to the jolly old fellow, and Mindy was able to snap the perfect shots. “I…hope this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the two,” she said. More than 60 families took advantage of the event, which featured refreshments from Starbucks, Shipley’s Do-nuts on Ella, H-E-B on 18th Street and the 43rd Street Edible Arrangements. Other sponsors included Justin Gordon Homes, and Quentin R. Martin of Light Realty & Associates. So happy were the organizers that they’ve already set a date for next year’s breakfast. Mark Dec. 14, 2013 on the calendar. (Top photo by Charlotte Aguilar; photo left by Mindy Switzer)

fered Houstonians what was a novel treat at the time, and the restaurant chain claims to use that same recipe – a fluffier, almost cornbread-like masa stuffed with more filling than the traditional Mexican tamales.

see Tamales • Page 9A

Stevens is ready to realize high hopes by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com A rainy night did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the roughly 20 people who met in the library of Stevens Elementary last week. The group, brought together by Stevens Principal Lucy Anderson and Oak Forest residents Catherine DeBlieux and Rachel Markworth, discussed ways the community could better partner with the school to help make it the elementary school of choice for those zoned there. “I have lived in the community of Oak Forest for almost ten years and the school is not only where we are zoned but is a block from my home,” said DeBlieux. “The more I am learning about HISD, the more I realize that it takes the community to share in partnership with these neighborhood schools to grow.” DeBlieux and Markworth recently talked with Tim Weltin who was an instrumental part of the Black Middle School turnaround and gained some valuable insights. “The schools will improve over time in neighborhoods that demand higher expectations and offer sponsorship, like we are seeing with Black, Oak Forest Elementary, Durham Elsee Stevens • Page11A

Following Up: Business owner works to improve W. 43rd by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Following a story in last week’s edition of The Leader on trash and the lack of a tenant at 4301 Rosslyn, numerous readers responded with ideas and thoughts about the property. Among those was Shawna Hudson, of Hudson Chiropractic. She is the owner of the office complex at 1820 West 43rd St., and while she has similar concerns about the adjacent property, her building and tenants have thrived in the area. Hudson’s property leases for $11 per square foot on an annual basis – or less than $1/SF per

month – and that’s pretty standard for the area. The Leader was unable to obtain a monthly lease price for the seemingly abandoned building at 4301 Rosslyn, though Stacy Mathews at Prudential can be contacted for that information. Hudson has leased most of the available 3,000 square feet at her building to Medcuba Clinic, a new family practitioner in the area. The building was formerly occupied by a pediatrician who retired. According to Hudson, who initially leased her office and has since bought the space, the S.E.

see Rosslyn • Page 9A

Despite repeated calls to the city for help, this sign at the corner of Rosslyn and West 43rd Street does little to help the overall appearance of the shopping center. (Photo by Betsy Denson)