Houston Mayor Declines to Confirm Senate Run

Houston Mayor Bill White this evening declined to confirm an online report that he’s decided to offer himself as a U.S. Senate candidate. "I’ll keep you posted on those future plans. But for now, I’m focusing on keeping Houston moving," White said via an online exchange. Separately, he said through his spokesman, Frank Michel: "I’m still looking at it (the Senate possibility). I haven’t made a decision." More

Two Former Perry Appointees Look At Senate Runs

Two Republicans with ties to GOP Gov. Rick Perry confirmed Friday that they're looking into running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison. Roger Williams, a former Texas secretary of state, and Elizabeth Ames Jones, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, joined state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, by starting committees enabling them to raise money toward a run. Shapiro launched her effort this summer. More

Rick Perry-Kay Bailey Hutchison Battle Fuels Tensions Among Texas Republicans

As Republicans nationwide look to repair their party's fortunes, a rift has developed in Texas over whether the political problem is Washington or extends to the state GOP. And it's at the center of an increasingly bitter Lone Star battle– Rick Perry vs. Kay Bailey Hutchison. In signaling a possible challenge to Mr. Perry in the primary for governor, Ms. Hutchison, Texas' senior U.S. senator, says the state's Republican leadership is polarizing and unresponsive. She warns it must retool or risk losing political dominance. More

Residential Real Estate Biz Faces Rocky Road

Residential real estate is going to continue to be a tough industry in 2009, with both agents and brokers redoubling their efforts to work smarter and focus on the sale. Credit is tighter, consumer confidence is at an all-time low, and there are too many houses floating on the market. Until the market bottoms out, probably in the middle of the year, some experts project, sales will lag. “The biggest threat is spillover from national events,” said Ted Wilson, principal with area real estate analyst firm Residential Strategies, Inc. of Dallas. Nationally, market conditions have been much worse than in North Texas specifically. The tsunami of foreclosures and job losses has not been as drastic in this state. More

Builder Confidence at Record Low

Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes held at a record low in December amid deepening economic turmoil and massive reductions, according to the monthly National Association of Home Builders. The December NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Monday, held at November’s all-time low reading of 9. “The crisis continues,” said NAHB chairman and Point Pleasant-based home builder Sandy Dunn. “"hile builders are doing everything we can in the way of price and non-price incentives to move new homes off the books, buyers are afraid to move forward, and in any case there is almost no way to compete with the cut-rate product that is continually flooding the market from mounting foreclosures. Congress and the Administration must step in with substantial incentives to bring qualified buyers back to the table as well as effective foreclosure relief programs if we are to end this negative spiral that is weighing so heavily on our national economy." More

Column: Cull-Perry Case Back in Court

The Culls say Mr. Perry’s company built a defective house, with a broken foundation and cracked walls. When the company failed to fix it, the couple took their case to arbitration and won a $800,000 award. But Perry Homes refused to pay it, saying the couple had waived their legal rights to arbitration. The company lost in the lower courts, but eventually won in the Texas Supreme Court, which vacated the award and sent the case back to trial court. More

First Fully-Restored LEED-Platinum Landmark Dwelling

The Nix House, a New England-style Victorian mansion from 1899 in San Antonio, has received the nation's first LEED-Platinum certification as a designated historic landmark dwelling. The 4,600 square-foot home at 434 King William has been fully and carefully restored following both historic preservation and green design/sustainable building practices, turning an energy inefficient home into one with the highest designations as an efficient, high performing building. The structure attained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC's third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. A repeat effort is underway at 432 King William. More

Area Texas Lawmakers Pre-File Bills

Graffiti, taxes and tuition are among dozens of issues state lawmakers from the Coastal Bend already have addressed in bills they hope to pass when the legislature convenes in January. State representatives and senators began pre-filing bills Nov. 10 for the 81st Legislature, which begins Jan. 13. As of Friday, lawmakers had filed 728 bills, and members of the Coastal Bend delegation are keeping pace with their peers on getting would-be laws into the hopper. More

Local Officials Will Keep Eye on Bills to Cap Home Appraisal Hikes

Local officials are concerned that proposed state legislation to limit increases in home appraisal values could be a drain on county and city operations. Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, filed one of several bills to keep a lid on how much appraisers can raise home values. Under his bill, home appraisals couldn’t rise more than 5 percent a year, half the hike currently allowed. “We have a lot of people on fixed incomes or elderly people who may have their homes paid for, but because their subdivision values are going up they’re not able to make the payments on their property taxes,” Nichols said. “They should not be forced to leave their homes.” More

Perry to Set Texas Record

Thursday will be a day for Texas history books. That's when Republican Gov. Rick Perry becomes the longest serving chief executive in the state, surpassing Bill Clements' 2,919 days in two non-consecutive four-year terms. Perry, who was elected lieutenant governor in 1998, became governor two years later when George Bush resigned to become president of the United States. He easily won his first full term in 2002 and was re-elected two years ago, though with only 39 percent of the vote. How much longer will Perry remain governor? That's what Austin watchers have been debating most of this year, especially since mid-April when he announced he will seek re-election in 2010. More