Free Republic

One major concern I discussed a few weeks ago regarding the Trans Texas Corridor is where the land will come from. Another concern is where the money will come from. Official government websites for the TTC assure that public-private partnerships will shield the taxpayer from bearing too much of the cost burden, but a careful reading shows the door is definitely open to public funding sources, while at the same time there is no doubt of the intention to charge tolls on the road. Taxpayers already pay for their transportation system through hefty gasoline taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other...

A tire maintenance worker at Metro's Hiram Clarke facility was shot 18 times and killed by a friend and fellow worker after the two feuded for days over a woman, the men's supervisor said. Police on Thursday identified Mario Love, 27, of the 5600 block of East Hampton, as the slain man and said his killer is believed to be a man they found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Harris County Medical Examiner's office identified that man as Marcus L. Boone, 22. He fit the description witnesses gave of Love's shooter. The man believed to have committed suicide...

Undaunted by bad publicity, Metro light-rail trains continue to barge recklessly into cars and pedestrians. Equally undaunted, some cars and pedestrians continue to barge into the trains. But just how many collisions have occurred? There is some dispute. Metro's count, as of August 4, is 99. In its world, Houston is waiting breathlessly for that historic 100th crash. For a lot of Metro-crash aficionados, though, that momentous entry into triple digits is old news. John Gaver, an IT guy who runs the conservative Webzine Action America, has kept an exacting eye on the number of Metro incidents, and he has...

A pickup driver was killed in downtown Houston late Tuesday when his vehicle was broadsided by a Metro light rail train, the first fatality on the rail line since it opened to the public in January 2004. The accident happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. on southbound Main at Jefferson. The driver, who was killed on impact, was believed to be a man in his 30s. He was the only person in the Dodge pickup truck, police said. Veda Flores was following the pickup truck when she said the driver drove through a red light and into the path of the...

RIDING THE RAIL Late-night rail service's fate riding on Metro evaluation Low ridership could spell end to 'last call' trains By LUCAS WALL Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Late-night bar patrons downtown might be running out of time to use the train as their designated driver. Metro is reviewing whether to continue late rail service on Friday and Saturday nights. The extended weekend hours began in June at the request of city officials and downtown businesses who hoped the availability of the rail ride might lure more customers. It hasn't happened. "Ridership has been disappointing, but Metro leadership is now working...

Headline on paper front page online. Controversial Metro Rail hits Prison bus. More details to follow.

ChronicallyBiased.com has learned of an apparent new Houston Chronicle policy regarding light rail's notorious accident rate. The Chronicle will no provide coverage of many Metrorail collisions. News of the policy appears in an message by the Chronicle's Lucas Wall on Wednesday: From: Wall, Lucas; XXXX@XXXXX Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 3:46 pm Subject: MetroRail Crash NumbersI’m not going to continue this debate. But FYI, the Chronicle is no longer reporting every light rail collision in the paper. This decision has to do with space constraints and the fact we do not report on every fender bender car crash. But we...

A panel of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board wants to know why the agency employs so few Hispanics, but its search for answers has been slowed by the difficulty of wading through reams of employment records. Board member Janie Reyes, who chairs the committee looking into hiring practices, said Monday the agency did not computerize these records until October. Despite incomplete records, the committee will hold its first meeting today to begin its review of Metro's hiring practices. "I'm asking for the last year of applicants," she said. "The problem is the time it takes manually to pull them out."...