Inside Today: Check out local businesses and their A-to-Z Christmas gifts • Page 19
Ad # 37449
PREMIER PROPERTIES
Your Neighborhood Full Service Real Estate Office
713-686-5454 www.preproperties.com
THURSDAY | December 6, 2012 | Vol. 59 | No. 6 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
Commentary: Can’t we find a tenant here? by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
FBI investigating two bank robberiers
them. Then, after a week or so, there was some kind of fire. It’s been vacant, and increasingly desolate ever since, save for the people who come use the parking lot on weekends to sell their wares. It’s not like I’m unaccustomed to disappointment, or maybe it’s just a protracted case of wishful thinking – like when the Food Land closed and people started talking about a
see Trash • Page 7
The corner of Rosslyn and 43rd is often littered with illegal dumping.
CRIME
Leader Analysis
Definite areas where crimes are more likely
POINTS. W. Little York
Parker
W. Tidwell Pinemont
W. 43rd
290
THE EVENT.
er st Je C. T.
Two different branches of Chase Bank were the victims of robberies recently. According to FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap and those inside the bank, law enforcement believes it may have been the same person commiting both robberies. The first occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Chase location inside the Heights at 545 W. 19th St. According to the FBI, the suspect was described as a black male, about 35 years old, 5-foot-6, 180 pounds, and carrying a semi-automatic pistol. The second robbery happened just after Thanksgiving, on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 3209 N. Shepherd Dr. According to witnesses, the suspect fit the exact description of the suspect in the first robbery. No one was injured in either robbery. The FBI has not released a photo of the suspect.
T.C. Jester
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10570 NW Frwy • 713-680-2350
Mangum
s ’ e n e l r a D
When I read or hear my neck of the woods referred to as the new West U, I have to smile. That’s because I live less than a mile from the corner of 43rd Street and Rosslyn Road where there has been an empty 8,000-square foot building for the eight years that I’ve lived here, and probably longer. If this were West U, it would be a thriving
Antoine
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strip mall by now – with a juice bar or maybe a pilates studio – at the very least, frozen yogurt place. A couple of years ago I got really excited. There was activity, people sprucing up the inside and setting up shop in one of the units. It turned out to be a hair salon, a Super Cuts type place, maybe even the one that’s now by the Starbucks. I don’t know. What I do know is that I was so thrilled there was a tenant I was going to go get a haircut to support
W. 34th
sponsored Ad # 37570by
Yale
sponsored by Ad # B
Shepherd
THE BRIEF.
610 W. 20th
3401 W. T.C. Jester 713-957-1100
WHAT: Toys for Tots WHEN: Anytime, but specifically until Dec. 15 WHERE: Prudential Permier Properties, 1803 W. 43rd St. HOW MUCH: Whatever your heart tells you to give LEARN MORE: Contact Prudential Premier at (713) 686-5454 EDITOR’S TAKE: There are dozens and dozens of ways to help needy children during the holiday season, and nearly every one of them is legitimate and worthy of your help. Toys for Tots has been a fixture of the Christmas season for decades, and their value to the needy is as respected as any charity out there. ’Tis better to give than to receive.
THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2 3 4 12 6 7 10 16
Burglaries
Ella
10
Studewood
M-F 11am-9pm Sat 11am-5pm
Thefts
W. 11th
Heights
8
LEGEND
Silber
only
$ 65
Wirt
Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Sweet Potato Fries & Drink
Antoine
Westview
N. M ai n
th W. 19th
W. 18th
T.C. Jester
Longpoint
45
Robberies Photo Illustration by Jake Dukate & Jonathan McElvy
After taking a week of crimes in The Leader’s coverage area, and plotting them on a map, it is clear to see that there are pockets were simple thefts, burglaries and robberies happened – at least for one week.
by Jonathan McElvy jonathan@theleadernews.com Normally, crimes are published based on the date they are reported. That makes it difficult for those concerned about public safety to analyze the crimes and determine where and when they happen the most. In this Leader Analysis, we have taken one week’s worth of crimes, plotted them on the adjoining map, and will provide some context below about the trends of crime in the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and North Houston. In doing so, we have taken one full week of crimes (Nov. 20-27), and we use information from SpotCrime.com, a service that aggregates all crimes reported by law enforcement, based on street address. It should be noted that the reported crimes are not always a full representation of criminal activity. Police believe there are many crimes – usually thefts – that are not called in to law enforcement. In this analysis, we only looked at three specific categories of crimes: Thefts, burglaries and robberies. Thefts are crimes that occur outside of a home (e.g. your car is broken into and your golf clubs are stolen). Burglaries are considered illegally breaking into a building (e.g. your home). Robberies are defined as taking money or goods in the possession of another person in the presence of that person, using force or intimidation. For the week of Nov. 20-27, there were 93 total crimes reported. There were 63
see Analysis • Page 7
Joe Canino Jr. ~ (1922-2012)
Founder of produce market leaves a legacy of hard work by Jonathan McElvy jonathan@theleadernews.com Joe Canino Jr. likely will be remembered for the name atop the produce market on Airline Drive. Those closest will remember him for the work he did to build that market. Canino died last week at the age of 89. In his passing, stories of his ethic and gumption will live for generations. Lawrence Pilkinton was seven or eight years old when he met Canino, and Pilkinton’s first encounter with his future fatherin-law may sum up Canino’s demeanor better than any other story. “I walked up to him one time and asked him if he needed any help when he was outside gardening,” Pilkinton recalled. “He
Joe Canino Jr. told me he didn’t. Well, I started helping him anyway.” That display of loyalty may have won
Tina Canino’s heart (she and Pilkinton were married in 1971), but it did just as much to endear him to Joe Canino Jr. “He told me that he was thinking about buying [the market] and I asked him if I could go with him,” Pilkinton said. “He told me he was going too early, that he was leaving at 4 in the morning and that I wouldn’t be up. But I was there the next morning.” Today, Pilkinton helps manage the market with his brother-in-law Bill. And the work ethic of both Bill and Lawrence is a direct off-shoot of Joe Canino’s brand of business. “There were a lot of times he’d just sleep at the office,” Pilkinton said. “He was such a hard worker. I don’t think I’ve known anybody that worked as hard as he did.” That’s a sentiment Joe Paul Wright shares.
For more than 20 years, Wright operated his insurance business on the same lot as Canino, and the two would trade services. “I’d notarize things for him, and he’d give me a box of tomatoes or grapefruits. He had the best grapefruits,” Wright said. Beyond the great food, though, Wright’s recollections harken back to the way Canino handled difficulties at the business. “I can tell you, he was a pretty feisty guy,” Wright said. “One time, he caught a shoplifter, and he didn’t wait on any police to fix the problem. Joe just accosted the guy right there outside the store. They got in a real fist fight, and Joe wouldn’t let him go.” Then there was the story about one of the first banks Canino used for his business.
see Canino • Page 10