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Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston Saturday, January 2, 2016 • Vol. 62 • No. 1
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Beating the boredom during the holiday season By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com If you are a parent of a school age child, no doubt you’ve been enjoying the family time. It’s also possible that your kids are driving you a little nuts. You want to get out of the house but don’t want to go too far or pay too much to entertain them. Leader readers chimed in on their best ways to beat boredom.
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Kill two birds with one stone Is it an errand or is it an adventure? It can be both. At Mister Car Wash, 640 W Crosstimbers St., there’s free popcorn for the kids (and you too) as well as a mounted water gun that they can use to help “wash” the cars as they come down the line. Be mindful though - not every customer wants the extra service. At IKEA, 7810 Katy Fwy., there’s Smaland to occupy your children while you shop. What’s Smaland? Why it’s the free supervised play area that IKEA offers. Deal breakers are non-potty trained children and those who are shorter than 37 inches and taller than 54 inches. Hours: Mon-Fri: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sat and Sun, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Other contenders are the play area at Memorial City Mall. Tania Prontka suggests making your holiday returns on the
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Meet Iwona Jankowski In this week’s edition of Art Valet, Mitch Cohen kicks off the new year by interviewing Iwona Jnakowski, an artist working from her studio in Magnolia, TX, who creates colorful, abstract paintings. Jankowski will also be at the upcoming First Saturday Arts Market.
same trip. Nicole Aboudaher said that Gallery Furniture has a playground, free food and monkeys. Jessica Nute recommends Big Blue Whale on 19th Street which has a small play & reading areas for kids - likewise the Barnes & Noble on West Gray which has a train table and reading area for kids. If you can resist the pleas to bring home a new pet, check out the critters at the new Petsmart, 1339 W 43rd St., the one near the Heights, 1907 Taylor St., or Aquarium World, 13157 Northwest Fwy. Make a special trip Kathleen Orr alerted The Leader to Second Baptist’s “really neat train display […] it’s free and offers a scavenger hunt for kids.” Or as Second Baptist describes it – “an array of model trains will wind their way through miniature snow-covered villages for the enjoyment of families and friends throughout the Christmas season.” The display is up until Jan. 3, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and Wednesday 5-8 p.m. at their Woodway location. Want to top “99 Bottles of Beer”? How about 50,000 beer cans at Houston’s own Beer Can House, 222 Malone St. John Milkovisch started on the project at his See Boredom P. 2A
Photo by Betsy Denson Los Trompos is a must-do at Discovery Green and is a surefire way to cure boredom during holiday downtime for youngsters.
The Gift of Giving
By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
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Wabash gets a new home Wabash Feed and Garden Store has made a name for itself at its Washington Avenue location for nearly 30 years. Now, owner Betty Heacker will be taking her business to a new home on North Shepherd Drive with nearly twice the space to work in. Read about the big move and what’s in store for the local establishment in this month’s Business Leaders.
Families in need get early Christmas courtesy of local donations, MANNA By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com
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YMCA celebrates gift drive
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The INDEX. Church
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Classifieds
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Food/Drink/Art Obituaries
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Opinion
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Public Information Puzzles
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Heights builders focusing on new ‘luxury’ offerings
Pizza, gifts and Old Saint Nick himself awaited dozens of families in need last week at St. James Lutheran Church on West 43rd Street as the Ministry Assistance of the Near Northwest Alliance celebrated Christmas a bit earlier than usual. Executive director Patricia Dornak said the Christmas event on Dec. 22 was a first for the organization and would likely not be the last. Nearly 100 people, identified by MANNA and the church as being in need or disadvantaged, visited the church and received large bags of gifts and complimentary pizza and refreshments. Santa himself also sat at the front of the room and met with children as they posed for pictures with their families, enjoyed candy and received bags filled with toys donated from members of the community. They organizations and neighbors like Justin Gordon and various other business in The Leader area. Dornak said the event was a great way to cap off 2015. “We really need to be giving back more to our community and giving these kids a good Christmas is part of that,” Dornak said. “This is the finale of the year for us at MANNA. A lot of these families don’t have much of a Christmas and we wanted to do something special.” For volunteer opportunities, donation information and more visit www.manna-houston.org.
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Photos by Jonathan Garris (Top) Children were reminded to be on their best behavior by Santa himself at St. James Lutherna Church during a charity event hosted by the Ministry Assistance of the Near Northwest Alliance. (Bottom) A youngster gets a high five during his visit.
It’s no secret that the Heights has been a hot market for real estate. While builders continue to make tightly laid out townhome communities, the area has also continued attracted players looking to differentiate themselves from the competition, and much of that all comes down to one term – “luxury.” Perhaps the biggest luxury among many moving into the Heights is space. While some developments sacrifice space to maximize the number of lots available to consumers, Partners in Building is taking a much different route with the design of its Fountain Park community on West 26th Street, which is expected to have homes available in early 2016. The design of the community, which boasts large greenspaces and – a shocker to some in the Heights – room for parking, represents a shift in what local buyers want to see, says vice president of marketing Paul Womack. “We did a lot of preliminary work with focus groups in designing [Fountain Park] and finding out what was important to them,” Womack said. “Less density was one of the things that came up frequently.” Rather than rows of townhomes, Womack said the development is designed more like a gated community while still boasting space for a mixture of over 50 townhomes and cottages which, according to the website, are priced from the $600,000 range. Residents will be able to walk their dogs, enjoy an esplanade complete with a large fountain and floral arrangements and dedicated parking for homeowners and guests alike. Features like balconies and greenspaces allow developers like Partners in Building to attract those looking for luxury housing without the luxury pricing, Womack said. The Heights has remained a “strong area” for development and families and young professionals have continued migrating into the area. Other developers are noticing too. More recently, a new, 35-story condominium project is headed to the Greater Heights area, according to a report by the Houston Business Journal. According to the report, Fabian Trujillo, a luxury home realtor with Keller Williams Metropolitan, is working with See Luxury P. 2A