Good News & Bad News: NASA, Texas Medical Center, METRO Rail, & Buffalo Bayou (Houston: neighborhoods)

[DANNYY]

Bad News:

NASA:

Obama asked Congress to freeze NASA's 2012 budget at the 2010 level of $18.7 billion, roughly $300 million less than the amount called for in the 2011 road map that's working its way through Congress. Space operations would be cut by 29 percent to $4.3 billion, primarily due to retirement of the shuttle fleet that is winding down three decades of operations.

Good News:

METRO Rail:

Houston Metro's expansion is getting a $200 million boost in Obama's budget request to Congress. The money for the North Corridor and the Southeast Corridor projects is $50 million more than the $150 million set aside by Obama in his last two budget proposals.
The Metro project is part of a wider bid by the administration to upgrade transportation infrastructure nationwide so that 80 percent of Americans have "convenient access" to a high-speed passenger rail system within 25 years.
For Houston, Obama's budget cuts NASA but boosts Metro | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Texas Medical Center:

The Texas Medical Center and other research facilities in the state could benefit from the 3.4 percent increase proposed for the National Institutes for Health. The NIH was a rare winner in a budget that left discretionary spending on health and welfare programs almost flat.
For Houston, Obama's budget cuts NASA but boosts Metro | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Buffalo Bayou:

Construction is expected to start in mid-2012 and take three years.
The effort will be funded almost entirely by private donors, save $5 million from the Harris County Flood Control District. The Kinder Foundation has given $30 million, believed to be the largest gift ever given to a park project in Houston. That leaves the partnership with $20 million to scrape together.
"That area of the bayou is so used," said Nancy Kinder. "The trails are in such dire shape. That was really what caught our focus — that this could be a world-class park if you did just some basic work."
The Kinders hope their gift will spur not only physical improvements, but also a shift in attitudes. Viewed as little more than "big open sewers" a generation ago, perceptions of the city's bayous have begun to change, said partnership consultant Guy Hagstette.
$55 million 'green' plan to beautify Buffalo Bayou | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

[SouthernBoy205]

Well the GOOD outweighs the BAD; that's all that matters!

[Redlionjr]

Can't wait to see the plans for Buffalo Bayou. Wonder whats in store for BB

[crbcrbrgv]

Even better news is that apparently Obama is amending the law that tied federal funding of education to national standards be available to districts as opposed to states. HISD may wind up saving a lot of jobs because of this.

The Houston area cannot afford to have thousands of people laid off in education. Private sector jobs in conservative states tend to not like hiring former educators. This is a generalization, however, I'd say it's pretty true.

[SouthernBoy205]

That's good.

[crbcrbrgv]

Unfortunately, districts such as Fort Bend won't apply because they don't want to offend their conservative residents by adopting an Obama policy. Mark my words, it won't be long until FBISD parents start complaining about 30 to 40 kids in a classroom.

Now, the good news is we may avoid this all together as it seems the politicians greatly underestimated how negative the reaction would be and will likely not cut 5 billion. I think they will hit that rainy day fund if they have to.

[dv1033]

Wow I'm floored by the upcoming Buffalo Bayou improvements. This will connect downtown with memorial park with some sweet trails.

Project Brays is a similar project, but of much greater scale. It's overhauling Brays Bayou which cuts through SW Houston and is one of the top 3 flood districts in the metro, it serves like 1.7 million people.
Project Brays

Back to Buffalo Bayou, this ~5 mile greenbelt can really improve the surrounding areas; especially if this well connected to adjacent neighborhoods' bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

Now if we can connect this segment with the Terry Hershey segment we would have a +20 mile long green belt that could access the Energy Corridor, Westchase, Uptown, and Downtown. However, hell would have to freeze over before the Memorial folks give the banks over to the city to build trails.