Inside Today: A cider fest is set for Saturday in the Heights • Page 1B
Join us for
FACEBOOK LLIVE IVE S SA SALE ALE OCTOBER 19TH 6 P.M. - 8 P.M.
EVERYTHING on SALE!
Flower & Gift Shop
MICHAEL SILVA
michael@happenhouston.com
713-725-8748 cell
Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
10570 NW Frwy ❖ 713-680-2350
Saturday, October 16, 2021 • Vol. 66 • No. 42
ABOUT US 2020 North Loop West Suite 220 (713) 686-8494 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/FromTheLeader
Paint the town
40 YEARS INSULATING! Attics • Walls • Floors Noise Reduction • Removal
FREE ESTIMATES
713.868.1021
paylessinsulation.com
Leader’s Choice BEST ATTORNEY
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 5005 W. 34th Street, Suite 104A Legal Services For Wills, Probate Estate Planning & Real Estate
PHYLLIS A. OESER ATTORNEY AT LAW 713-692-0300
Elizabeth Villarreal Your Neighbor & REALTOR®
Photo from Twitter This aerial view of the intersection of Fulton and Quitman streets in the Northside neighborhood shows pedestrian buffer zones that were recently painted bright colors by members of Houston Public Works and the Houston Planning & Development Department. More infrastructure changes, such as bike lanes and ADA-accessible ramps and sidewalks, are expected to come next year.
City adds color for safety at Northside intersection
832.712.1320
elizasgarden@outlook.com
713-528-1800
INSIDE.
Abstract art. Veteran artist Ron Gordon has an exhibit at Artique in the Heights.
Page 9A
Music by McMurtry. The son of a famous novelist rocked the Heights Theater last weekend.
Page 3B
Airing it out. Jake Wright threw for five TDs last week in a big win for St. Thomas High School.
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com The crosswalk markings already were there. So were the rings of small plastic barricades that surround each corner of the intersection of Quitman and Fulton streets, providing cyclists and pedestrians with some protection from a steady stream of motorists. To further distinguish the space for walking and riding from the area dedicated for drivers, representatives of Houston Public Works and the Houston Planning & Development Department spent the morning of Oct. 8 working as much as street artists as traffic engineers. They filled in the buffer zone for pedestrians and cyclists with brightly colored paints, creating somewhat of a kaleidoscope effect with blue, green, purple, red and yellow. “We wanted to add a little more definition in places around the corners,” said Ian Hlavacek, a managing engineer for the city who took part in the painting project. “We could have done that a lot of different ways, but figured we’d do it creatively and add some paint for the neighborhood. “We’re really trying to define that area as a place not to drive,” he added. “Most people were getting that message already, but this further establishes that.” Adding splashes of color to a gray slab of concrete is a temporary feature and part of an ongoing transformation of a well-traveled intersection in the Northside neighborhood. Construction for the Quitman Corridor Partnership Project is expected to take place next year, when bike lanes, ADA-accessible sidewalks and ramps, landscaping and streetlights will be installed along Quitman between Houston Avenue to the west and Elysian Street to the east. The project is a joint initiative by
District VII trustee candidates try to separate themselves By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com Dwight Jefferson is an arbitration attorney and former state district judge. Bridget Wade was a parent-teacher organization president who also served on a private-school board, while Mac Walker is a small business owner and father who has been a mentor to at-risk kids. Sung All three are challenging incumbent Anne Sung, a former teacher and Harvard University graduate, for the District VII seat on the Houston ISD Board of EduWade cation, which serves a geographic area that includes Sinclair Elementary in the Timbergrove neighborhood. How to adequately account for growth on the Sinclair camJefferson pus, where HISD cut down some mature trees and added a modular building earlier this year to help serve a continued influx of students, figures to be Walker a key issue among local voters. Early voting is Oct. 18-29, and Election Day is Nov. 2. “I don’t know what their plan is for the exponential growth going on in that area,” Wade said of HISD. “Maybe See District VII P. 6A
Board candidate up in arms over name mistake on ballot By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com Photo from Twitter Representatives of Houston Public Works and the Houston Planning & Development Department paint parts of the intersection of Fulton and Quitman streets on the morning of Oct. 8.
the city, METRO, Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia and the Greater Northside Management District, with the idea to promote multimodal transportation and provide increased connectivity to Houston’s expanding trail network. A virtual community meeting about the project is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, with meeting and project information available at http://www. greaternorthsidedistrict.org/QuitmanCorridor.shtml. “It’s going to become a one-of-akind, elite project for the city,” said Anibeth Turcios, the deputy director of the Greater Northside Management District. “It’ll definitely be an enhancement. That has been the biggest priority in terms of safety and pedestrian enhancements for us.” In the meantime, the intersection of Quitman and Fulton has become a testing ground of sorts for city traffic engineers, with Hlavacek saying they wanted to make it safer while also providing community members with a preview of what’s to come. The traffic signals there starting flashing red last
December, according to Turcios, who said the city initially placed orange, water-filled barricades where the aforementioned plastic bollards are now located, with those having been installed in July. Converting an intersection from one with green, yellow and red traffic signals to a four-way stop is unusual, according to Hlavacek, who acknowledged that the changes have been met with mixed reactions from residents. A community member wrote on Twitter that some pedestrians feel less comfortable crossing the intersection without the traffic signals, because they view motorist movements as less predictable with that configuration, and Turcios said drivers have expressed dissatisfaction with having to stop at the intersection. “The change from it being a traffic light is not particularly popular as most people don’t understand why it has changed,” another Northside resident wrote on Twitter. Hlavacek said the idea was to slow See Painting P. 6A
Mac Walker said he put his name on the ballot because he wants to improve Houston ISD and the way it is governed. If elected to the board of trustees for the state’s largest school district, Walker might start his tenure by trying to improve the process by which HISD puts names on the ballot. In the August application he submitted to HISD to be a candidate for the District VII trustee race, a copy of which is on the HISD website, Walker wrote that his full name is Lee Macerlaen Walker and he See Walker P. 3A
Contributed photo Mac Walker, a candidate for the District VII seat on the Houston ISD Board of Education, speaks with a potential constituent while campaigning. Walker said the ballot Harris County is using for the Nov. 2 election incorrectly refers to him as “Lee Walker.”
Oak Forest turns out for annual bike ride
Page 4B
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 6A Coupons................................................... 8A Food/Drink/Art................................... 9A Opinion..................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 3A Sports......................................................... 4B
Contributed photo A group of local residents ride through a neighborhood street Oct. 9 as part of Le Tour de Oak Forest
There were leftover event Tshirts the last time Le Tour de Oak Forest was held, in 2019, when an estimated 100 people participated in the community bicycle ride around the neighborhood. So Amar Mohite, this year’s event co-chair along with his wife, Ujari, made a conservative estimate and ordered 130 Tshirts for last weekend’s ride. He ended up running out, so
not everyone who participated received one, at least not yet. ”I’m working on the list of people I owe T-shirts. I’m going to have to reprint the T-shirts,” Mohite said. “On the last day we saw a lot of registrations.” And that was a good thing, according to Mohite and event founder Lucy Fisher Cain, who called the 2021 rendition of Le Tour de Oak a “success.” It was not held last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mohite said roughly 150
neighborhood residents turned out for this year’s family-friendly, 9.1-mile bike ride all around Oak Forest, which was held on a picture-perfect morning Oct. 9. There were no accidents, according to Mohite, and the event raised money for the Oak Forest Homeowners Association’s annual contract with S.E.A.L Security Solutions, which patrols the neighborhood. “Since the pandemic (started), we have not had any large soSee Oak Forest P. 5A
Personalized attention. 2222 North Durham | 281.517.8760 AllegianceBank.com
By ensuring consistent access, quick answers and tailored solutions, we don’t just get to know your business, we get to know you. %iscover how our taking your success personally can make all the difference.