Inside Today: Heights church makes an impact in Haiti • Page 1B
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SATURDAY | March 30, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 22 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
Price of Prosperity
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Read the Full Story • Page 5A
Helms chosen as new SPARK park site
The Heights is poised to gain another community park as Helms Elementary School has been chosen to participate in the SPARK Park program. Principal Diana Del Pilar received the word Tuesday. The school, 503 W. 21st St., will immediately enter into the SPARK planning and fundraising process, and it’s possible that construction could begin by summer of 2014. Schools are given a $5,000 fundraising goal, Houston ISD kicks in another $5,000, and partnerships are forged with the city of Houston, Harris County and local businesses to build and maintain the park, which is designed with school and community input to serve neighborhood needs. The nonprofit SPARK program has been responsible for placing more than 150 parks on HISD school grounds since 1983. Schools in Leader neighborhoods with the parks include Field, Garden Oaks, Harvard, Sinclair and Travis elementaries, Hamilton and Hogg middle schools, and Reagan and Waltrip high schools. COME TRY HAND BREADED
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THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2A 3A 4A 3B 6A 4A 4B 4B
Austin vibe permeating in Heights by Ken Fountain For The Leader The Heights, sometimes referred to as “a piece of Austin inside Houston,” has for several years undergone a transformation from a oncesleepy suburb that had fallen on hard times to a hotspot of the city’s socalled “creative class.” How to build on that momentum despite several challenges was the subject of a recent forum for the development community. “I actually believe Austin is a piece of the Heights that broke off,” Chris Day, executive vice president of Moody Rambin Another Austin Interests, joked restaurant, as he led a panel Pluckers Wing discussion called Bar, is moving “The Heights: to 19th Street. Renewal and Redevelopment” on Page 3A March 20. A near capacity crowd filled the first floor of the Historic Heights Fire Station and City Hall for the event, hosted by the Houston chapter of the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit group that promotes sustainable communities. Day was joined in the discussion by Bill Baldwin, owner of Boulevard Realty, and Dan Braun, president of the retail development company Braun Enterprises. “The Heights is a quirky place,” said Baldwin, who has lived in the area since 1997 and is vice president of the Houston Heights Association, which formed in the late 1970s to help bring the area back to is former luster after it had fallen into disrepair beginning in the late 1950s. Baldwin gave an overview of the history of the Houston Heights, the first master-planned community in
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see Vibe • Page 7A
The Heights-Norhill Little League T-Ball Giants celebrated during the League’s Opening Day Parade last Saturday. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
Little Leaguers enjoy their rite of spring by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com Timbergrove Sports Association (TSA) Pony League teammates Jason Ritch and TJ Kuehn began playing TBall 11 years ago, and they’ve seen the league grow exponentially. Last Saturday, Ritch, a 14-year-old Cy-Fair High student, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Kuehn, 15year-old Reagan High student, at TSA’s Opening Ceremonies at its complex, 15th Street and Bevis. “It’s very much an honor – we’ve been here the whole time,” Ritch said. Kuehn agreed, saying “it’s a nice community, and everybody helps out. We’re giving the younger players something they can aspire to.”
TSA, which has four fields, has grown from 250 baseball players eight years ago to 550 this year, said Association president Tim Ruch. Ruch delivered some more exciting news to the 1,000+ parents and fans who attended the Opening Ceremonies, which were accentuated by the smell of hot dogs and BBQ in the air. TSA raised $220,000 for a new concession stand that will open within the next month or so. Ruch said about 10 donors raised the majority of the funds, and those donors will be revealed during a ribbon cutting ceremony when the project is complete. The next project, Ruch, said is raising another $220,000 to add lights to the
see Baseball • Page 5A
A weekend of festivals – including some ’bugs by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com The anticipation of endless crawfish and the combining of several annual events into one is a huge reason why the Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce is expecting its largest crowd in the history of its crawfish festival. The 10th annual Crawfish Festival in The Heights, from 11 a.m. through sunset April 6 at the Northwest Mall, will feature more than 10,000 pounds of the mudbugs, said Chamber chair Mickey Blake. And that matches their projected attendance: 10,000 people. That’s more than double the amount of crawfish that was on hand last year, Blake points out. P.J. Cooker’s will handle the mudbugs again this year, but they’re bringing several boilers to keep the lines short.Pre-sales are $15 per plate prior to April 6 and $20 on the day of the event.
A $15 plate – $20 on the day of the event – includes 3 pounds of crawfish, potatoes and corn on the cob. Beer is also being served, as well as non-crawfish options. (Submitted photo) Packages are available for groups to buy $300 for 20 crawfish plates and 100 tickets that give festival-goers access to beer, soda and hot dogs.
Each plate will contain 3 pounds of crawfish, plus potatoes and corn. “It’s very exciting - it’s going to be amazing,” Blake said. “Last year was such a big success. We’re building on that.” The annual celebration may be known for crawfish, but this year, it’s a total community event that will include beer, live music, a raffle of a Hyundai Elantra donated by North Freeway Hyundai, a car and motorcycle show, a job fair, a health fair, a full kid zone with rides, games and face painting, art and essay contests, the final round of The Idol of The Heights singing competition and shopping from dozens of vendors. “Luckily, the Northwest Mall has stepped in and has allowed us to use their space,” Blake said. “The Northwest Mall’s management team
Home tour, too
see Chamber • Page 7A
see Tour • Page 7A
The Houston Heights Association Home & Garden Tour has been a community tradition since 1978, in which residents and tourists travel from near and far to see some of The Heights’ most historic and unique homes. “We have six really good homes,” said Janet Buchheit, co-executive director of the tour. “We have two homes that are turn of the century, a brand new home and another one that was converted from a washateria.” The tour will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on April 6 and 7.