Thumbs up, down
New tower stands tall, Rice U’s Leebron stands out and state sales tax revenue is low.
Finally, we get a cold front that is somewhat cold.
Give the architects of Partnership Tower an A-Plus. They designed the gleaming new 10-story building near Discovery Green and George R. Brown to be “a front door to Houston,” said GHP president Bob Harvey. It is. The public space is filled with indigenous symbols: chairs carved from Texas trees, marble evocative of City Hall, our bayous as art. The thought that went into this facility should be a template for public places like our airports, parks and schools. The building should not only welcome dignitaries but also students and teachers, the future of Houston.
When Bruce Zimmerman joined the endowment that manages investments for The University of Texas and Texas A&M Systems, UTIMCO was in disarray. Nine years later, the Bellaire High School graduate added $4.25 billion to the cash register. He retired this month, but thanks to that keen sense of investments timing in both good and bad economies, students at public universities in Texas have a stream of state-ofthe-art facilities, increased scholarships and more financial aid.
In higher-ed news closer to home, Rice University’s David Leebron next week becomes a double president. He assumes the title at the Association of American Universities. Underneath that well-cultivated geeky look is one of Houston’s deepest thinkers and most savvy problem solvers. He’s the right man at a complex time to help AAU’s 62 prestigious universities navigate a myriad of problems not the least of which are presidential candidates who can’t articulate a vision for schools other than free or low-cost tuition. Leebron can also help his peers think through issues that include a lack of funding for research, competition from online sources, campus assaults and misplaced athletic priorities.
We fondly remember two Houston media legends who went to the broadcast booth in the sky this week. Skipper Lee Frazier — radio DJ, promoter, entrepreneur, pioneer, friend to stars and the everyman — died at 89. Countless radio listeners knew him as the man who brought “a mountain of soul to Houston” — Lee’s iconic daily sign-on for his show on KCOH.
Bob Allen, the longtime television sports director, died at 70. Allen’s impact went beyond his nightly highlights. He was deeply committed to work with charities like Sunshine Kids and Special Olympics. At home, he kept framed jerseys of three Houston legends — Earl Campbell, Hakeem Olajuwon and Nolan Ryan — all number 34. Houston’s teams should consider retiring Allen’s number, too — 13, as in the channel with which he spent most of his career.
Houston has rolled without a permanent police chief for almost a year, indicating it may need our help with the search. There’s a top cop in Austin unafraid to take hard internal positions while building trust in the community. In secretly recorded comments to his staff published by the American-Statesman, Chief Art Acevedo has this to say about his decision to fire an officer who shot a naked and unarmed 17-year-old: “The union got all pissed off because I fired Freeman. … I’m going to tell you right now, if we have another Freeman tomorrow, that is what’s going to happen. I didn’t lose a minute of sleep. If you can’t handle a kid in broad daylight, naked, and your first instinct is to come out with your gun, and your next instinct is to shoot the kid dead, you don’t need to be a cop.”
If you thought hurricane season was over, don’t put the storm shutters away. The Wall Street Journal, relying on data from the Dallas Fed and others, was bleak in this month’s assessment of Texas: “While the pain in the oil patch hasn’t driven the state into recession, Houston, the nation’s energy capital and fourth-largest city, is on the brink.” The Journal detailed the trickledown effect of our lackluster economy, citing a significant decline in sales tax revenue. Chef Robert Del Grande of Café Annie said his restaurant’s Happy Hour has become “gloomy hour.”