I noticed a recurring theme among the speeches during the Academy Awards this year: Movies are best when viewed on the big screen with the shared reaction of an audience. It’s a notion that struck me. I miss the silver screen!

Ever since we discovered Netflix DVD rental with home delivery, I’ve been lulled into the comfort and convenience of viewing movies at home. What’s more, I did not miss those dirty theaters with their offering of overpriced candy and artery-clogging buttered popcorn.

Katy’s new Alamo Draft House is the solution that will re-ignite theater attendance for me. I have found a way to return to the big screen in a clean, comfortable setting as well as a reasonable menu! (more…)

The Houston residential real estate market continued to play opposite of national trends during February, the most recent period for which the Houston Association of Realtors has compiled statistics from its Multiple Listing Report. In many national markets, prices are skyrocketing as sales decrease. In Houston, the market continues to see strength in both sales and pricing. There were several month-of-February Houston real estate milestones: Highest average sales price for single-family homes; Highest median sales price for single-family homes; Highest dollar volume of sales; and Highest level of pending sales at month end. Total property sales for the month totaled 5,792, a 16.4 percent increase over February 2005. (more…)

The number of new housing starts in the first quarter of 2006 spiked dramatically over the same period last year. Metrostudy Corp. says in the quarter ended March 31, 2006, builders put down 4,579 new single-family home starts in the Austin area - a 48 percent increase over the same time last year. That brought the annual new home start rate to almost 17,000 homes, a 29 percent increase over the annual start rate a year ago and a new record for the Austin market. Eldon Rude, director of Metrostudy’s Austin division, says an influx of out-of-state families moving to Austin and a tight resale home supply have put an increased demand on the local new home market. At the same time, builders have been struggling to develop enough finished lots, with the lot supply dropping to less than 18 months in the first quarter of 2006. During the same time last year, the lot supply was two years. (Austin-Round Rock: Housing)

Online recruitment activity and related employment opportunities in Houston continued to increase during March, according to an index conducted by Monster Worldwide Inc. Of the 18 professional categories tracked by the company, 13 saw an increase in activity, while four declined. One category - architecture and engineering - held steady. The index’s upward growth over the past six months demonstrates a gradual strengthening in the regional demand for labor, which has spurred payroll employment growth of about 3.5 percent year-over-year, partly due to an expanding energy industry, rising trade, and a booming construction sector.

Online opportunities for workers in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media also grew, as did those in office and administrative support, which contain many leisure and hospitality positions. Occupations such as construction and extraction, as well as production and transportation - which are related to the energy and natural resources sector - experienced continued growth in online job opportunities, and have grown at a faster pace in the Houston area than in most other major markets.
[Houston Business Journal]

From staff reports
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 4:06 PM CDT

An annual survey by a partnership of leading music and educational organizations named Katy ISD as one of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America for 2006. This is the fourth year that Katy ISD has received this distinction.

The survey is part of “Music in Our Schools Month,” an annual observance that highlights music education in public schools.

This year’s roster includes school districts from 31 states whose commitment to quality music education ñ measured across a variety of economic, curricular and programmatic criteria ñ has enabled them to excel despite the many pressures that are hampering programs across the country. … more