First:
"A Step Below Hell" Video gives inside look at HISD Dysfunction. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
The old saying "this mess is a place" seems to be very salient here. This is also a good job by the Chronicle of watchdog reporting, good use of FOIA requests and good reporting on a school board that has clearly run off the rails.
It is also the strongest case for TEA control that anyone has ever made.
Second:
The Trouble with the Midtown Innovation District. Sophie Asakura, HoustonChronicle.com
I'm not questioning Ms. Asakura's intentions, or her motivations. It appears that what she is advocating for is pure and focused. That she is concerned about the homeless and working poor in the area is admirable.
However, it's also painfully clear that her solutions to the problem are patently wrong. In fact, it could be argued that Ms. Asakura doesn't even really understand what she should be arguing for.
At it's root, the problem of chronic homelessness is a gigantic mental health issue that Houston, Harris County and the State of Texas are currently wholly unable to address. That Rice is purchasing parcels of land that acted as a homeless encampment is not a negative, neighborhood improvement is good. What is bad is that there are several people living in homeless encampments for one reason or another whose core needs are not being addressed.
Finally, for all of her concern about the people living in and around the Ion, and the problems that occur because of rising property values what she is really advocating for is property tax reform. If you have control of property tax then you have a situation where rising property values become a good thing due to increased equity minus the burden of excessive tax increases.
I doubt that Ms. Asakura would view it this way, but reforming property taxes in Texas would assuage most of her concerns and would actually help the home-owners in the area should property values rise.
Both of these stories show the flaws in both the operation of Harris County's elected leaders and the short-sightedness of our "thought leaders".
The HISD board is a dysfunctional mess, lacking both good intentions and a basic understanding of acting like an adult, while Ms. Askaura injects in a debate without understanding the issues for which she's advocating, or possible fixes for them.
All of this fuels the Houston Area Leadership Vacuum which is saddening, but not unexpected.
I will say this: I've respect for Ms. Asakura because her intentions are pure. I have no respect for the HISD Board because theirs are not. Honestly we need more people like Ms. Asakura who at least are approaching the issue concerned about others, if only their ideologies allowed them to view things through a wider lens.
