Katy Prairie and Sugar Land Restaurants: Wednesday’s Show (July 6, 2016)

Following our recent Houston Matters road trip to the newest stretch of the Grand Parkway, in which we learned how some nearby residents and businesses are being affected by the new leg of 99, we received an e-mail from a listener bemoaning how such development adds to the dissipation of prairies on the edges of Greater Houston. Those vanishing prairie lands can help mitigate flooding and offer a rich ecosystem for species that are threatened or endangered.

Take the Katy Prairie — some 30,000 to 50,000 acres of land that’s home to hundreds of different types of birds. The Katy Prairie Conservancy seeks to protect that land. On this edition of Houston Matters, we talk with Mary Anne Piacentini, executive director of the conservancy, about efforts to preserve the Katy Prairie, how flooding impacts the area and the challenges inherent from encroaching development. We welcome your thoughts as well. (E-mail us at talk@houstonmatters.org).

(Above: Recent flooding on the Katy Prairie. Photo: Dave Fehling, Houston Public Media)

Also this hour…

Should the Houston Heights Remain A Dry Neighborhood?

The Houston Heights is an area comprising a portion of what most folks know more colloquially as "The Heights." Well, that area has been dry for nearly a century now, but the neighborhood's beverage coalition wants voters to change that in November. We talk with Steve Reilley, spokesperson for the Houston Heights Beverage Coalition, about his group’s efforts to get that question on the ballot.

The Full Menu Foodies Discuss Their Favorite Sugar Land Restaurants

Each month, we ask a trio of Houston food writers to discuss their favorite Houston area restaurants and dishes. Occasionally, we ask them to focus on a particular neighborhood or town in the region. Today, CultureMap Houston’s Eric Sandler, Katharine Shilcutt of Houstonia Magazine and David Leftwich of Sugar and Rice Magazine discuss dining options in Sugar Land.

Adult Lego Fans Converge on Houston for Brick Fiesta

Legos have a kind of ageless appeal. Which may help to explain an event this week (July 7-10, 2016) called Brick Fiesta, which takes place at the Westin Galleria hotel, and features huge Lego brick displays made by adults. The event is organized by Lego enthusiasts T.J. Avery, Sarah Silverman and Mike Taylor. Houston Matters Edel Howlin talks with the three of them about the event and their passion for Legos.

Houston Matters offers a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.