MICHAEL
Inside Today: See the top five dishes from top-voted restaurants! • Page 1B
S I LV A
Something for everyone on your list
20% OFF Storewide Sale Flower & Gift Shop
MICHAEL SILVA
713.725.8748
Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
michaels@johndaugherty.com
10570 NW Frwy 713-680-2350
Saturday, December 16, 2017 • Vol. 62 • No. 49
About Us 3500 East T.C. Jester Blvd Suite A (713) 686-8494 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/THE LEADER.
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com Neighbors and a prominent music spot on the Near Northside remain engaged in a contentious legal battle that began last year when residents labeled the venue a nuisance. In December 2016, neighbors near the White Oak Music Hall brought a lawsuit against the venue, saying the sound and music waves reverberated off their walls and disturbed the peace of
3414 WASHINGTON AVE FEASTURBANEATS.COM
50
Parties in music hall saga want new trial date their neighborhood. A judge subsequently granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction this past January. Originally the case was scheduled to go before a court Oct. 16 before delays caused by Hurricane Harvey’s landfall; and Dec. 11 before parties purportedly requested a new date. Johnny So with White Oak Music Hall and Wayne Dolcefino -- speaking as a spokesperson for Feldman and Feldman law firm and the plaintiffs -- both confirmed that news Monday morning.
“It has always been our hope that we can resolve this issue in a way to protect the good people who are now forced to live around White Oak Music Hall and its outdoor concert venue,” Dolcefino said. “As long as there are good faith negotiations and discussions to possibly make that happen, we have mutually agreed to move the trial date.” And So says that is, in fact, occurring. See White Oak P. 5A
Imagination House
Photo courtesy of White Oak Music Hall (Facebook) Shown is the exterior of White Oak Music Hall. The legal battle involving the venue was scheduled for Monday, but both parties requested a new date.
Santos elected as District 1 Trustee
OFF
$
* Pest • Pest • Mosquito
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
*• Rodent Rodent • Termite
281.407.8517
*Promo Code: FAMILY. Call for details
Insulating Since 1979 $
get 50 OFF
your purchase of $750 or more Attics • Walls • Floors Noise Reduction • Removal
713-868-1021
Photos by Landan Kuhlmann 7-year-old Gus Maxon takes the first test run of his new dream treehouse. The Make-A-Wish Foundation and McCarthy Building Companies partnered to make the little boy’s dreams come true.
www.paylessinsulation.com
Cancer survivor receives dream play spot By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com Gus Maxson is already a superhero to many for the battle he won. Now, he’s got the digs to suit that title on the corner of Lehman Street thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and a local construction company. In March, Gus was diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare tumor of the brain or spinal cord. He spent the summer undergoing surgery and recovery, and is just your normal child – a giant ball of never-ending energy, in an endless search of ways to expend that energy. And Gus had a dream come true Dec. 8 that perfectly suits his excitable nature. “I walked in the door and thought ‘Whoa, there’s a treehouse right there!’ Now I can play there while my parents are sleeping,” exclaimed the bubbly 7-year-
inside.
2017
old who had always wanted a treehouse of his very own. That treehouse, courtesy of a partnership between Houstonbased McCarthy Building Companies and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, came to fruition over the course of just three days Dec. 6-8 in Gus’ backyard on Lehman Street as builders fought the Texas elements to construct his play spot, imagined the previous sum-
mer. “I think for him, with what he’s gone through and the pain he’s experienced, this is just a special day for him, and it makes all the hard work we’ve done here really worth it,” said John Banks, McCarthy Construction Companies project superintendent. “We build a lot of projects around town, but we want to focus on the communities we serve. We want to focus on the families we surround ourselves with and make sure they know we’re here to make a difference.” And seeing Gus bound towards the structure told bystanders all they needed to know – it was beyond the family’s wildest dreams. “This just absolutely blew me away. I mean, they worked three days in the cold and the rain, but they had it all figured out. I was
The voters have spoken, and our local schools will soon officially have a new face on the HISD board of trustees. Elizabeth Santos, garnered nearly 61 percent of the vote Saturday night, and prevailed despite just 5 percent of registered voters coming out to the polls. Santos is a product of HISD, attending Janowski and Herrera elementary schools, Burbank Middle School, and Sam Houston Math, Elizabeth Santos Science and Technology Center. She has also spent the last decade as a teacher in HISD. “Knowing a group of community members, leaders, teachers and everyone from different parts of Houston could come together and stand for something made me proud, and hopeful,” she said following the win. “I’m hopeful becase of the fact that even with all the divisiveness happening right now, we could still come together as a community.” A new hope Even though the election is finished, Santos said the work has only begun. “Our community has spent time, money, and effort fighting for me. Now, I am ready to fight for our community,” she wrote Sunday afternoon. “We have much to do and many distractions and obstacles to navigate around, but I know that if we are focused on our vision of achieving equitable access to enriching educational experiences for all children, we will succeed.” Santos said times are changing, and feels a simultaneous sense of relief and excitement moving forward knowing there is now an educator’s perspective on the board -- particularly from District 1 -- to work with superintendent Richard Carranza to best meet the community’s needs. “We’ve built so many relationships from this campaign – it was more than a campaign. People from all corners of District 1 came together and took part in something larger than we are – that’s what our campaign represented. There’s a new hope,” she said. “I think that was an amazing feat that a community could come together with a powerful message that resonated with our district
See District 1 P. 2A
See Tree House P. 6A
Market at Houston Heights huge for North Shepherd By Betsy Denson For The Leader Best Select. Serving up a select group of dishes from this year’s top voted restaurants.
Page 1B
The INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 6B Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 1B Obituaries.............................................. 5A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
Capital Retail Properties partner Anderson Smith is a Heights resident who also knows how few big tracts of land exist in the area for development. “Most are in the 5,000 square foot range,” he said. That’s why when the opportunity presented itself to purchase a 75,000square-foot parcel from an individual who had pieced it together over time, Smith and his partners made their move. In a press release, Smith announced the plans for the space, called the Market at Houston Heights, on the west side of the street at 1533 North Shepherd. Developed by Capital Retail Properties in partnership with Randy Wile of Wile Interests, Inc., the Mar-
Contributed rendering The 30,000-square-foot development is described as a “lifestyle destination” which will offer both restaurants, retail, and service oriented tenants.
ket at Houston Heights plans to deliver space to tenants for build out in the fall of 2018. The 30,000-square-foot development is described as a “lifestyle destination” which will offer both restaurants,
retail, and service oriented tenants. It will be a far cry from the used car lot, food machinery company, and other businesses that reside there now. The release also touts the development’s proximity to the recently
opened Heights Bier Garten, the nearly complete Lowell Street Market, and the new concept for the former Hunky Dory/Bernadine’s complex - Chef Ford Fry’s Tex-Mex concept, Superica, which he already owns and operates in Atlanta. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture will do the design for the Market. The release states that “the decision was not only based on the firm’s creativity and aesthetic, but also their impact and imprint on Austin’s South Congress neighborhood, which Smith notes as having many similarities to this section of The Heights.” Smith tells The Leader that Capital Retail Properties currently has 250,000 square feet under construction around See Market P. 5A
Your Neighborhood Bankers
Experienced community bankers providing value to Houston business owners. Please stop by – we want to YLVLW ZLWK \RX DQG ¿QG RXW KRZ ZH FDQ KHOS \RXU EXVLQHVV / 5 $P\ 5LWWHU ± %DQN 2I¿FHU /HQGHU 0DUJDUHW 9DQGHYHU ± 693 /HQGHU 6FRWW /HVWHU ± %DQN 2I¿FH 3UHVLGHQW &HFLOLD 5RGULJXH] ± $93 2I¿FH 0DQDJHU -XVWLQ 9LFNUH\ ± 93 /HQGHU
2222 North Durham Houston, TX 77008
281-517-8760
MA K I N G A D I F F E R E N C E, TO G E T H E R .
www.allegiancebanktexas.com