Entries by admin

Liberty County Hazard Mitigation Plan Contains No Mention of Largest, Most Vulnerable Community in County

The Liberty County Hazard Mitigation Plan contains no mention of Colony Ridge, the largest and most vulnerable community in the entire county. Like Liberty County’s Strategic Plan, this is another example of shoot-yourself-in-the-foot planning. It, too, has Grand-Canyon-sized disconnects between intention and execution that could jeopardize thousands of lives. Overlooked or Ignored? Liberty County last […]

Harris County Approves Interlocal Agreement with City Concerning Woodridge Village

Today, Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Houston concerning the purchase of Woodridge Village from Perry Homes. On December 9, the City of Houston approved the same interlocal agreement. Today’s approval by the County brings both sides closer to a deal. But several details still remain to be […]

Liberty County Strategic Plan … Dead On Arrival

In August 2016, Liberty County released a Strategic Plan. Officials intended it to be the official policy guide for the county’s growth. However, most of the growth experienced by the county since then contrasts sharply with the vision, strategies and goals outlined in the plan. The contrast is so great, it’s tragicomic. Colony Ridge V. […]

Rivers of Mud, Part Dos: Wayne Dolcefino Uncovers More Liberty County Dirt

Wayne Dolcefino, one of the country’s great investigative journalists, has been digging into Colony Ridge, as I have. So when he asked me last week if his videographer could hitch a ride on my helicopter, I said “sure.” New Dolcefino Video Covers More Dimensions of Flooding Problem While I shot hundreds of stills over Colony […]

Two New MoCo Developments Will Total Almost 3,400 Acres, Have No Detention Ponds

Two new developments in Montgomery County, Audubon in Magnolia and Country Colony in Porter, will have no detention ponds. The two developments total almost 3,400 acres. During heavy rainfalls, they will dump their floodwater directly into local streams. How Do They Get Away With That? Sixteen months ago, on the second anniversary of Harvey, Montgomery […]

Daredevils at Triple PG Mine Continue to Push Safety Envelope

Two daredevil sand mining companies, Triple PG Sand Development, LLC and Texas Concrete, have stepped up their efforts to mine sand between pipelines that carry natural gas and highly volatile liquids. AG Lawsuit Filed in 2019 In October of last year, the Texas Attorney General sued the Triple PG mine in Porter for up to […]

Rivers of Mud: Largest Development in Liberty County Openly Flaunts Drainage Regulations

To prevent erosion that sends sediment downstream, current Liberty County Drainage Regulations specify that developers must: Plant grass on the banks of ditches Construct backslope interceptor swales But aerial photos taken this week show that drainage ditches in the massive Colony Ridge development rarely have grass on their banks. And while criss-crossing the development in […]

Woodridge Village Purchase on Wednesday’s Houston City Council Agenda

Houston City Council will consider two items Wednesday that could ultimately pave the way for the purchase of Woodridge Village from Perry Homes. Woodridge Village twice contributed to the flooding of hundreds of homes in Kingwood’s Elm Grove Village last year. For more than a year, the City, Harris County Flood Control and Perry Homes’ […]

Merry Christmas from Colony Ridge

In my lifetime, I’ve taken more than half a million pictures. I spent four years photographing in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, which was the poorest neighborhood in that city at the time. I’ve also photographed in Appalachia and the poorest parts of Central America. But in the heartbreak department, nothing compares to a photo I took […]