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Community Colleges Offering 4-Year Degrees, and Mystery Author Philip Kerr: Thursday’s Show (April 13, 2017)

Posted on · (Above: A class at Lone Star College. Photo: Laura Isensee | Houston Public Media) Right now, just three community colleges in the state of Texas are allowed to offer four-year bachelor's degrees. Houston's Lone Star College is not one of them, but wants to be. Lone Star College Chancellor Dr. Steve Head argues allowing schools […]

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Freedmen’s Town Bricks, and East End Development: Tuesday’s Show (January 24, 2017)

Posted on · For the second time, the Freedmen's Town bricks were ripped up by city contractors, despite explicit instructions from the city not to disturb the bricks. So why does this keeping happening? What can the neighborhood do to preserve what's left of these bricks? What more can the city do, when Mayor Sylvester Turner has already […]

Houston Matters

City of Houston Gathers Feedback on Design Guidelines for Historic Districts

Posted on · The City of Houston recently (Sept. 27, 2016) held its first community workshop for its expanded Historic District Design Guidelines project. These are the guidelines property owners in historic districts can use when making changes to their home or building. At that community meeting, Winter & Company (the consulting firm the city hired back in […]

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Police Oversight and Misconceptions About Islam: Tuesday’s Show (October 11, 2016)

Posted on · In 2011, Houston Mayor Annise Parker established a police oversight board to review internal investigations at the Houston Police Department. But some have complained the board doesn't have any real teeth, with its volunteer members and lack of a budget. On this edition of Houston Matters we talk with one of the members of the […]

Houston Matters

A Closer Look at the Plan to Save the Dome

Posted on · Last week (Sept. 27, 2016), Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved $10.5 million for the design phase for the Astrodome project. It's part of the $105 million plan to preserve and revitalize the iconic structure. That plan entails raising the structure's floor, providing underground parking and converting the building into usable public space. We talk […]

Houston Matters

What Design Guidelines May Be in Store for Three Houston Heights Historic Districts?

Posted on · Project organizers will hold a community meeting Tuesday (Dec. 8, 2015) as part of the City of Houston’s process for creating historic preservation design guidelines in three Houston Heights historic districts. They wanted to know what property owners think about the guidelines in place covering changes they might want to make to their historic homes […]

Houston Matters

Documenting and Preserving Houston’s Blue Tile Signs

Posted on · Perhaps you’ve seen them in an old Houston neighborhood — address numbers inlaid on the curb in front of a house, featuring blue tiles on a white background? Well, Houstonian Joey Sanchez definitely has. He’s launched Blue Tile Project, an effort to document all these relics and to make it an official symbol/font for Houston. […]

Houston Matters

What Changes May Be in Store for Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance?

Posted on · City officials are in the process of reviewing Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. A public hearing was held last month, and officials are reviewing the comments received and will consider action at a meeting on Aug. 27. We discuss what’s under consideration, and what it means for historic sites in Houston, with Margaret Wallace Brown, Deputy […]

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HISD Enrollment Caps and Historic Preservation: Monday’s Show (August 17, 2015)

Posted on · The first day of school for Houston Independent School District students is just a week away. Yet, some parents with elementary-age children in the district are confronting some uncertainty as to where their child will be going for the rest of the school year. That's because HISD is cracking down on class sizes in K-4 […]

Houston Matters

Documenting and Preserving Houston’s Blue Tile Signs

Posted on · Perhaps you’ve seen them in an old Houston neighborhood — address numbers inlaid on the curb in front of a house, featuring blue tiles on a white background? Well, Houstonian Joey Sanchez definitely has. He’s launched Blue Tile Project, an effort to document all these relics and to make it an official symbol/font for Houston. […]

Houston Matters

What Changes Are in Store For Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance?

Posted on · The city of Houston's Planning and Development Department and the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission are reviewing the city's Historic Preservation Ordinance. Mayor Parker's office would like the language in the ordinance to be clearer, but also may want to expand what can be protected and the authority such protections provide. We talk about what […]

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Historic Preservation, Your Technology Questions, and Sports Monday: Houston Matters for Monday, September 7, 2014

Posted on · The city of Houston's Planning and Development Department and the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission are reviewing the city's Historic Preservation Ordinance. Mayor Parker's office would like the language in the ordinance to be clearer, but also may want to expand what can be protected and the authority such protections provide. On this edition of […]