Denton replaces its mayor

What has turned out to be a surprisingly long, controversial and expensive mayoral election has finally come to an end:

Voters ousted Denton Mayor Perry McNeill on Saturday, handing the city’s top elected position to rival Mark Burroughs.

Burroughs won decisively with 62 percent of the vote, capping an unusually costly and bitter race between two former City Council colleagues.

“I’m just so pleased and so proud,” Burroughs said. “I hope that I live up to the trust that’s been placed in me today. I’ll try very hard to do so.”

McNeill, 72, a retired professor and engineer, is the first Denton mayor to lose a re-election bid in nearly two decades.

“The people have spoken,” he said. “I guess I’m going to have a little more free time.”

A runoff election was required because no candidate won a majority of votes in last month's first round. The fact that Burroughs came very close to winning that four-candidate election, however, seemed to suggest that McNeill's stint as mayor was in jeaopardy.

Interestingly, turnout for this runoff was over 500 votes higher than for the first round; a total of 3,866 voters, or seven percent of Denton's typically apathetic base of registered voters, cast ballots in the runoff.

The election itself was one of the nastier ones in Denton's recent political history. McNeill and Burroughs were both targets of an unsuccessful attempt to remove their names from the ballot on the basis that their candidacies violated the city's term limits. The election itself was rife with other charges and conflicts:

Burroughs also faced questions over potential conflicts of interest. His law firm, Sawko & Burroughs, collects delinquent taxes for many local governments, including the city of Denton.

Burroughs has repeatedly said the contracts aren’t a conflict because his firm’s payments come from fees levied on taxpayers’ past-due amounts, not from government coffers.

Local activist Bob Clifton distributed several mailers criticizing Burroughs’ government contracts and level of spending on the race. Together, Burroughs and McNeill spent nearly $84,000 on their campaigns, with Burroughs’ spending accounting for more than 60 percent of the total.

Last month, Burroughs sued in an attempt to stop Clifton’s mailers, arguing that Clifton was violating state law by not disclosing who was funding them.

Clifton denied wrongdoing but faces a possible contempt-of-court ruling after he failed to meet a court-ordered deadline Tuesday to turn over his financial records.

McNeill also faced controversies, including over whether his mailers exaggerated his accomplishments and included names of people who weren’t supporting his candidacy.

The mayor also drew fire for an automated phone survey that critics called a thinly veiled attack on Burroughs. The survey, which did not identify its source, asked respondents whether having a “part-time mayor” or one who collected overdue taxes from “struggling” families and businesses would bother them.

McNeill, who campaigned as a “full-time mayor,” admitted funding the survey but said he was simply trying to measure public opinion.

I never would have guessed that an election between Perry McNeill and Mark Burroughs would turn out to be such a nasty and expensive affair. Both McNeill and Burroughs were on the "pro-business" side of the "neighborhoods versus businesses" divide that has historically characterized local politics, and when I worked for the City of Denton I thought both of them to be generally pleasant and level-headed. There might be a political backstory here to which I am not privy, but the ease with which Burroughs unseated an incumbent mayor suggest there was a lot of dissatisfaction with McNeill's administration. Elections under these circumstances can get ugly. McNeill probably realized early on that there was a tide of dissent against him and felt it necessary to create as many doubts about Burroughs as he could in order to retain his seat in the mayor's office. Ultimately, it did not work.

Burroughs will be sworn in as mayor at tonight's city council meeting.

Third rotation underway

As difficult as the last few weeks in Houston have been, I would have liked to have stayed there a little bit longer. Lori and her family are still coping with the loss of her mother, and I know my presence helps them. However, the time had simply come for me to get to return to my work responsibilities on this side of the planet.

The nonstop on Emirates was booked, but my second choice - Delta through Atlanta - was available. For some reason, the travel agent couldn't get me a ticket out of Hobby this time around, so I had to fly out of IAH.


Interestingly, it turns out that Delta's Flight 8 to Dubai technically begins at Bush Intercontinental; the destination sign at the gate in Terminal A says "Dubai" along with "Atlanta." Of course, this is one of those "same flight in name only" arrangements: once I got to Hartsfield I had to transfer to a different plane with a different crew at a different terminal. In fact, a drawback to this arrangement was that I couldn't select seats for the trip out to Dubai on Delta's website because it couldn't process seat requests for flights that have different segments on different aircraft.

It sure would have been nice to have been able to select my seats for this flight. Although I did not end up with a middle seat this time, I did end up spending the entire flight from Atlanta to Dubai sitting directly in front of a woman with two young children, one of which was a fussy infant who screamed at regular intervals. What's worse, while this poor woman was stuck in coach with her two children, her husband was traveling in business class. He managed to come back and check on his family exactly once during the fourteen hour flight, and never bothered to help his wife by taking the infant with him even for a little while so she could sleep. What a douchebag!

Anyway, the folks at the office here are certainly happy to see me; they're facing the usual conundrum of too much work and not enough people to do it and, even though they were able to get along without me, my physical presence here is greatly appreciated. Perhaps one day soon that appreciation will manifest itself in a raise or a promition...

This is the third of what will likely turn out to be five rotations to Dubai this spring and summer. I'll be here this time through July 3rd.

Monarchs in love

I was going to title this post "Butterfly Porn" but decided against it.
Anyway, I thought this picture was cool: these monarchs are mating on a milkweed plant that very well could end up being the home of the caterpillars they're creating. Click the picture for a larger version.

Continental tightens its belt

High oil prices and a sluggish economy continue to take their toll on the commercial aviation industry, and the hometown airline is not immune: Continental is shaving 3,000 employees from its workforce and cutting 6.4 percent of its total capacity (measured in available seat miles) across the board, and completely eliminating service to fifteen cities worldwide. Continental's Air Micronesia subsidiary, based in Guam, will feel the biggest cut with a 21.5% capacity decrease. The airline's belt-tightening will be felt here in Houston, too, as it reduces capacity to its Houston hub by almost 8 percent. Several destinations will be dropped as well:

Continental also says in a press release that it "will be reducing frequencies in certain markets and will also discontinue service" on a number of routes from its hubs. Below are the routes being dropped by Continental.

From Houston Intercontinental: Cali; Chattanooga; Guayaquil; Hartford, Conn.; Monclova; Montgomery; Oakland; Palm Springs; Reno; Sarasota; Tallahassee and Washington Dulles.

I've actually flown on two of these routes (Houston to Reno and Houston to Guayaquil) in the past. I'm kind of surprised that these routes didn't survive the axe; Reno/Tahoe is a busy leisure destination, and Houston has considerable economic ties to the Ecuadorean port city of Guayaquil (indeed, the two are Sister Cities).

The cuts, which were announced last week, will take effect on September 3rd. Unfortunately, I doubt that this will be the last round of cuts that take place. The commercial aviation industry (which, contrary to popular belief, is a net money loser) is on very shaky ground right now, and as long as oil prices stay high and the economy struggles, there really is no light at the end of the tunn-, er, runway.

Time for another butterfly post

A Chronicle blogger is enjoying his own experience with a bunch of very hungry caterpillars.

Which makes me wonder: why hasn't the black swallowtail fairy paid a visit to my garden yet?

I've had a lot of fun this spring with the monarchs - as I write this I notice that an adult monarch is perched atop my remarkably resilient milkweed plant - but the black swallowtail is still my favorite butterfly and I was hoping to raise a couple more of them this year.

I've planted dill and parsley in my garden expressly for the purpose of attracting papilio polyxenes. And, indeed, I've seen some black swallowtails hovering around my garden.

But, as of yet, no hungry caterpillars. Bummer.

Remembering Astroworld

Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the opening of Astroworld. Chronicle blogger Rick Campbell marked the occasion; Bayou City History has some pictures of how the park looked way back then as well.

The theme park located across Loop 610 from the Astrodome was originally owned by Judge Roy Hofheinz and his family; in the mid 1970s, it was sold to Six Flags. The park operated for 38 seasons. In the fall of 2005, Six Flags made the decision to close the park and sell the property; Astroworld closed its doors forever on October 30, 2005.

Having grown up in Houston, I remember Astroworld all too well; it many respects, it was an integral part of my life.

My very first trip to Astroworld was probably sometime in the mid-to-late 70s, when I was a small child. I have only very distant and vague memories of that particular visit, but what I do remember is that, when I was young, trips to Astroworld were a very rare occurrence. They only occurred once every couple of years or so and for that reason were a pretty big deal. To the eyes of a young child, Astroworld, with all its rides and attractions, was a place of magic and excitement.

When I was about ten or eleven, my parents became aware of the value of a season pass to Astroworld, which essentially allowed me to go to Astroworld whenever I wanted. This was pretty cool, at least at first. I'd spend many a summer day there with my friends, Rebecca and Marc and Jeremy, or with my brother and his friends, or with whomever happened to be in town at the time. The season pass could also be used for admission to the Waterworld water park next door, which was a huge plus in the hot Houston summer.

But with repeated visits, the novelty of Astroworld began to wear off. What had seemed so enchanting and amazing just a few years before was now routine and expected. Over time, I began to tire of the long lines, brutal heat and overpriced food. I continued to hold season passes throughout my middle school and high school summers, but as my interest in other summertime activities grew (as well as the fact that, as a teenager, I spent my summers in Ecuador), the frequency of my visits to Astroworld waned. I think the last time I went to Astroworld as a season pass holder was with my friend Bill and his family right before my senior year of high school began in August of 1990.

It was a couple of years later, in 1992, when I developed a new relationship with Astroworld: I became an employee of the park. I needed a menial, no-experience-or-thinking-required summertime job, and the theme park readily hired high-school and college-age kids. That summer I worked as a costume character, which meant I was paid minimum wage to walk around in the Houston heat and humidity in a furry rabbit suit and continually be assaulted by obnoxious punk teenagers. Somewhere in the Bush family photo album, in fact, is a picture, taken during the 1992 Republican National Convention, of Bugs Bunny posing with a bunch of George and Barbara Bush's grandchildren and well as a few secret service agents. The guy in the Bugs Bunny costume would be me.

Being a glutton for punishment, I returned to Astroworld in 1994. This time I worked in the merchandise department, selling overpriced souvenirs, but at least I got to stay inside air-conditioned stores. But when that summer ended, I had had enough. It was time to set my employment sights a little higher.

The fact was that, while Astroworld might have been a fun place for people to visit, it was a horrible place to work. Employees were paid poorly and treated even worse. The park's corporate overlords (Six Flags was a division of Time Warner at this time) considered the park's young, seasonal labor base as cheap and expendable; morale was low and employee turnover was high as uptight supervisors treated their underlings harshly and suspiciously and even the most minor offenses resulted in termination. Cost containment seemed to be the park's only concern; employee hours were closely monitored, benefits were nonexistent, and sectors were oftentimes understaffed to cut labor costs. In spite of this toxic labor culture, employees were required to be constantly cheerful and helpful to guests - a "beatings will continue until morale improves" situation if there ever was one.

By the time my second summer of employment at Astroworld ended in August of 1994, I had completely had it with the park. The excitement and joy that the park had represented to my childhood had completely evaporated and had been replaced with a sense of disgust. From the day I stopped working there until the day the park closed, I visited only once more, and then only at Lori's insistence.

When Six Flags finally decided to close Astroworld in 2005, it came as no surprise. It was pretty apparent even a decade earlier when I worked there that the park was struggling. It was common knowledge to the employees even then that the park's admission fees barely covered its operating costs: food, games and merchandise concessions were the actual profit generators. Maintenance was deferred in order to reduce operating costs, resulting in the park's increasingly-shabby appearance. The park, rightly or wrongly, began to develop a reputation as a teenage gang-banger hangout. Astroworld was landlocked into its 109-acre footprint and was unable to build enough in the way of new attractions to keep people coming, and new Six Flags facilities in places like San Antonio, Mexico City and New Orleans (pre-Katrina) cut into Astroworld's geographic visitor base. Attendance at the park declined as the value of the land on which it sat increased, and Six Flags, which was reeling under a mountain of debt, eventually saw the writing on the wall.

Today, the area where all those rides, restaurants and attractions once stood is barren; if you didn't know the history of that site, you'd never have any idea that there was once a bustling theme park there.

Almost three years after it closed, there's still a part of me that misses Astroworld. I'll never be able to ride childhood favorites such as the Texas Cyclone or the X-LR8 again and I'll never be able to take Kirby there.

But there's also a part of me that says "good rittance." The reason is simple: as I grew older, so did Astroworld.

Chicago

I'm here for less than 48 hours, and most of my time is being spent either in workshops or asleep here at my hotel. The only local attraction I've been able to see is Navy Pier, which is within easy walking distance (those short lake cruises that depart from the pier are actually rather enjoyable). So I really can't pass much judgement on Chicago.

But: the people seem to be friendly, the street life here in downtown is good, the mass transit system is excellent (if not worn), the food is decent and the beer isn't too expensive.

I'll definitely have to come back when I have time actually do some sightseeing. But my initial impression of the Windy City is good and, at the very least, I can scratch another name off my "important cities I've never visited" list. Which still has a lot of names on it, though: Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego... Damn, I'm lame.

Anyway, these workshops wrap up tomorrow afternoon, and then it's off to New Orleans for a few days of eating and drinking in the French Quarter.

Off to the airport...

This afternoon I'm flying to Chicago to attend a workshop. This will be my very first trip to Chicago.

Saturday evening I'm flying to New Orleans. I'll be spending a few days there vacationing with my family.

Wednesday morning I return to Houston.

The following Friday, I head back to Dubai.

This ought to be fun...

The aftermath and reorganization

Some adjectives that could best be used to describe the past two weeks include "awkward," "surreal," "bewildering," "overwhelming" and, above all, "difficult." In other words, the last couple of weeks have sucked. Funerals are not fun; aside from the shock and grief of losing a loved one, there are a host of other tasks - planning the ceremonies, informing friends and family, writing the obituary, accommodating out-of-town guests, et cetera - that need attention. Lori and her family are very appreciative of everyone who has lent a hand during this time.

We still don't have a definitive cause of death and we still don't have a death certificate. It will probably be a couple of weeks before we have either of those, which is annoying because we really would like to know exactly why my mother-in-law isn't with us anymore.

Lori has been holding up well, all things considered. She's trying to be strong for the rest of her family, but it's obvious that she is still struggling to come to terms with what has happened and she is understandably depressed. She tells me that sometimes she feels like she doesn't want to "keep going;" that she just wants to crawl into bed and stay there. But she knows she has no choice but to move forward, even if it's just one day at a time.

We're keeping a close eye on her dad as well; he's been staying busy, trying to keep himself occupied, but I suppose he's still in a state of shock. We don't let him be alone for any length of time.

Last Thursday was Lori's youngest brother Jacob's high school graduation ceremony: a bittersweet occasion, to say the least. Many family members attended, and we cheered as loudly as we could when he walked across the stage. Even though nothing could compensate for the fact that his mother wasn't there to see him walk, the smile on his face as he received his diploma indicated that he appreciated our presence.

It won't be easy and it won't be fun - losing a parent is devastating, period - but the time has come for Lori and her family to reorganize and to move on. The process of reorganization, as it is known in grief theory, is the assimilation of loss and the redefinition of life and meaning without the person that has been lost. We know that life will never be quite the same, and the lost loved one will never be replaced, but a new life - a new concept of what is "normal" - will eventually emerge. Death is a basic component of the human experience, but so are adaptiveness and resiliency. We move on.

My project manager in Dubai wants me to return as soon as possible, but it's going to be another couple of weeks before I can get back there. There's just too much - reorganization or otherwise - going on here in Houston right now.

Synthia Marie Harding Stevens

My mother-in-law's obituary ran in the print edition of the Wednesday May 21, 2008 Houston Chronicle. Because I do not know how long Cindy's obit will be accessible online (and because I think there were a couple of aspects of her life which were not mentioned in the printed obit), I am posting a "permanent" version of my mother-in-law's obituary here:

SYNTHIA MARIE HARDING STEVENS departed this life on Sunday, the 18th day of May 2008 at the age of 56. Cindy was born in Houston, Texas on the 6th of August 1951. She was the daughter of Kirby and Charldeen Harding, who currently reside in Santa Fe, Texas. Synthia graduated from San Jacinto High School and attended Sam Houston State University. At the time of her death, Cindy was an an employee of the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center in Houston. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and a loyal friend and co-worker.

Cindy is survived by her parents; her husband, Larry Dee Stevens; daughter Lori Deanne Gray; son William Daniel; daughter Lorena Jeanette; son Jacob Wade; and her two beautiful grandchildren Cheyenne Danielle Stevens and Kirby Benton Gray. She also leaves behind sisters Sandra Wicker, Sherri Cass and Sharlene Bailey, sisters-in-law Lorena Lightfoot and Linda McNeel, and brothers-in-law Gary Stevens and Paul Stevens.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30PM on Wednesday the 21st of May, 2008 at Houston National Cemetery Chapel, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr., Houston, Texas 77038. Friends and family will be received at the home of Lori and Thomas Gray, 4380 Varsity Lane, Houston Texas 77004 following the ceremony at 3PM.