Yeah, not so much.
Houston Renews Funding for Music Program After Bitter Fight. Houston Public Media
Live music at the airport might not seem like it would be that controversial, but it took hours for Houston City Council to agree to fund the Houston Airports Performing Arts Program – or Harmony in the Air – for another three years.
The $3 million for the program will come from airline fees, not taxes. Still, the price tag caused several council members to balk.2 things:
1. I'm not entirely sure why they say this fight was "bitter". Granted, this is Public Media, which views any disagreement about taxpayer funding toward classical music or Rick Steves on TV to be an affront to civilized society. So take all of this with a grain of salt. NPR, and their affiliates break out in hives when told that tax funds could be spent in some way better than a torrent of "what old white people like" programming. There was a disagreement over price, but I didn't see anything that elevated it anywhere near "bitter".
2. Council member Greg Travis actually made a salient point in this debate:
“I think when people go to the airports, they look for things like clean bathrooms,” said Council Member Greg Travis. “They look for, ‘Can I charge my phone?’ ‘Can I get the Wi-Fi?’ and ‘Do they have good restaurants?’ I think music may be up in that category, but I don’t think it’s that high up.”
This is true, and brings me to another point. The restrooms at both HOU and IAH are foul. Even when they've just been cleaned they are nasty. Charging stations? Good luck. There are so few available in some areas that the ones you can find look like the power outlet at the Griswold house during Christmas. Wi-Fi? I wouldn't consider GoGo to be "Wi Fi" It's lofi for the masses and can barely function quickly enough to let you check e-mail. Good food? Considering that most of the catering contract is awarded to one company (Aramark) you get what you can get.
There are notable exceptions in both airports. Cat Cora's restaurant is pretty good, there's a Chick-fil-a at HOU, and the Pappa's restaurants are pretty solid. But the rank & file food court stuff in both are pretty pedestrian and, in some cases, pretty foul.
Again, I'm not going to make too big a deal about this because it is pleasant to sit on the outer part of Pappadeaux's in HOU and listen to the string trio playing classical tunes while you enjoy your Bloody Mary and crab cakes while waiting on your plane.
I'm good with it.
But it's just another example of how, in times when real improvements and change are sorely needed, it's hard to get rid of a pet program in the name of World Classiness.
