Archive for the News Category

Few touchdowns in latest crop of ads

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Few touchdowns in latest crop of ads

For a game featuring two superstar quarterbacks that went down to the last tension-filled, nail-biting seconds, Super Bowl XLVI was surprisingly short on superstar advertisers.

Derek Rucker, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management who annually studies the quality of Super Bowl ads, said the average quality of Sunday’s spots was good, but he didn’t see as many standout spots as in previous years.

Rucker’s group studies spots from the standpoint of brand advancement, so his study gave high marks to M&Ms’ Miss Brown character, to Dannon’s Greek yogurt (“Who doesn’t like seeing John Stamos get punched?” he said) and to other groups that focused on a single ad like Honda’s Ferris Bueller homage with Matthew Broderick and Skechers with Mr. Quigley the dog and Mark Cuban the billionaire.

From one reviewer’s perspective, here are five ads that worked as entertainment and that left the viewer with a positive impression of the product they were designed to represent.

Last year, Chrysler used Eminem to tout the revival of the U.S. car industry.

Cat lovers may object, but such is the power of junk food that it can drive a good dog to crime and make a good man subject to temptation and prevarication.

Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno, who are car collectors in their own right, nudge out Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller for the Honda CR-V for the best comedy car spot.

[...] here are five spots that didn’t advance the art of creative advertising and didn’t do a lot to promote brand loyalty for established customers or create positive impressions for new ones.

Just what you want to see during an event that prompts eating and drinking: a kid apparently urinating in a swimming pool.

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Madonna still reigns

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Madonna still reigns

[...] yes, I dig the cheery new single (much more than 4 Minutes, the first taste we got of 2008′s uneven Hard Candy). A regal Vogue gave way to Music, and it’s impossible to deny the impact the of pop classics Open Your Heart, Express Yourself and joyous finale Like a Prayer. An unexpected, but welcome, assist by Cee-Lo Green – in a sequined robe, no less – was likely a nod to the network’s season 2 premiere of The Voice after the big game. I’ve been party-rocked plenty in the last year and could have done without LMFAO (Though the shuffling did make me smile.) But the Will Ferrell-esque tightrope bouncer was inspired, and the stage and entrance were pure pop Madge-sty. Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton were unassuming and adorable on America the Beautiful (though someone should have just said no to her pink microphone and matching earrings). [...] Kelly Clarkson offered a solid take on The Star-Spangled Banner, which, given recent anthem travesties, made it downright revolutionary.

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Correction for Feb. 5

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Correction for Feb. 5

1 A photo caption on Page A1 on Saturday incorrectly described a crime scene. The site was where a 4-year-old girl was stabbed.

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Outdoors report: Feb. 5

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Outdoors report: Feb. 5

The cold front and showers moved through the coast around mid-morning, sending many boaters to dry land.

Black bass are good on perch-colored crankbaits in the creeks.

Blue catfish are good on shad.

Water levels are one-half foot above pool.

Channel and blue catfish are fair on perch and stinkbait in 15–25 feet of water.

Fog this week aided e-caller snow goose hunters on the prairies, though participation has been minimal.

Seas 3-5 feet for the upper Texas coast and 5-8 feet offshore the lower coast.

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Man fatally shot outside SW Houston strip club

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Man fatally shot outside SW Houston strip club

Antoin Leon Yarbrough, 39, was at the Palace Gentleman’s Club, 9301 Bissonnett, with friends when he was approached by a man, whom he appeared to know, around 2 a.m., said Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva.

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Forest Service moves to salvage drought-stricken timber

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Forest Service moves to salvage drought-stricken timber

Forestry officials have decided they should harvest the commercially valuable wood before it rots, a practice known as salvage logging.

The initial sale, held in December, resulted in the removal of about 500 dead or dying trees from 33 acres on the Stubblefield campground near Lake Conroe, which was closed four months ago because of hazards related to the drought.

Salvage logging, however, is contentious, with environmentalists questioning whether the Forest Service should let more trees decay to nurture gradual regrowth and provide habitat for a variety of critters.

In addition to leaving more felled trees in place, Mannchen said he would like the Forest Service to create a 100-foot no-cut buffer to protect water quality, soil, riparian vegetation and wildlife habitat from logging equipment.

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Disciplining Texas judges can be a balancing act

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Disciplining Texas judges can be a balancing act

Six months after admitting in a public courtroom that he scratched up a neighbor’s car, former Houston Judge Woody Densen was disciplined by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The wrist slap, months after Densen pleaded guilty to the crime, illustrates the inertia and toothless sanctions that the agency policing the state’s judges is known for, according to Houston’s association of defense lawyers.

“Nothing ever happens, no one is ever disciplined and there’s no accountability back to anyone for anything,” said Earl Musick, president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association.

[...] it’s very secretive if anything ever does happen.

The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association last week sent suggestions to improve the judicial conduct agency to the state’s Sunset Commission.

[...] the commission cannot review most courtroom decisions.

[...] Cunningham said, the commission should not be involved in political fights.

[...] those who file complaints can remain anonymous, Cunningham said, so baseless accusations about innocent judges should not be public record.

Most of the complaints that are sustained involve clerical issues, like not filing the most recently updated forms for legal actions – a taboo for most lawyers, but not surprising in far-flung Texas counties where judging may be a second job.

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Pecos, Texas, moves closer to ban on single-use, plastic bags

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Pecos, Texas, moves closer to ban on single-use, plastic bags

Pecos Mayor Venetta Seals said the city will require the use of biodegradable and multi-use bags that will cost owners up to 40 cents each. The single-use bags cost about 2 cents each.

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Sánchez llega a acuerdo con los Astros

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Sánchez llega a acuerdo con los Astros

Sánchez llega a acuerdo con los Astros

Ángel Sánchez tendrá otra oportunidad para progresar con los Astros.

El torpedero de la jornada de apertura de 2010 que perdió su puesto en la nómina de 40 jugadores, despejó exenciones y llegó el miércoles a un acuerdo de Ligas Menores con los Astros que incluye una invitación fuera de nómina al entrenamiento de primavera.

Sánchez, de 28 años, tuvo un promedio al bate de .240 y un porcentaje de slugging en base (OPS) de .590 en 110 partidos de la pasada temporada, donde bateó un cuadrangular y conectó líneas en 28.

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HISD promete mejorar la educación bilingüe

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HISD promete mejorar la educación bilingüe

Esto lo dijo en respuesta a una revisión crítica que indica que se debe incrementar la cantidad de clases impartidas en inglés en la escuela primaria y garantizar que los maestros hablen bien dicho idioma.

Nuestro personal ha tenido mucho que debatir, dijo Grier. ¿Cuánto inglés se debe enseñar? ¿Cuánto español?

Padres que se resisten al cambio

Sam Sarabia, director de escuelas primarias en el HISD, dice que el distrito desea comenzar más programas bilingües, especialmente en escuelas que tienen un numeroso estudiantado de niños cuya lengua materna es el inglés, ya que de esta forma se pueden sumar a las clases en español mientras sus compañeritos aprenden inglés.

No obstante, ella sacó a su hija, que estudia el segundo grado, de un programa bilingüe en la escuela primaria Sinclair porque se trataba de una clase conjunta con chicos de primer grado y ella consideró que había demasiados alumnos.

Más bien, los estudiantes toman clases de inglés como segunda lengua, donde un maestro de habla inglesa les imparte clases sobre dicho idioma.

“El distrito escolar de Houston no se diferencia de muchos otros distritos en Texas y Estados Unidos que tienen inquietudes y problemas que resolver con respecto a la educación bilingüe y la enseñanza del inglés como segunda lengua”, dijo Beverly Irby, una de los educadores que revisaron los programas y decana adjunta de programas de post-grado en la Universidad Sam Houston.

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Policies reflect his faith, Obama says

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Policies reflect his faith, Obama says

WASHINGTON – Blending politics and religion, President Barack Obama said his Christian faith is a driving force behind his economic policies, from Wall Street reform to his calls for the wealthy to pay higher taxes.

Obama’s remarks Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast were his most explicit account of how his personal religious beliefs factor into his decision-making on the nation’s pressing problems.

The former Massachusetts governor is among Republicans who have criticized the president for not exempting religious organizations from a requirement in the 2010 health care law that requires insurers to cover birth control for their employees.

GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Obama has “declared war on the Catholic Church,” and House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday the mandate violates the Constitution.

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Baytown man in SWAT incident charged with assaulting officer

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Baytown man in SWAT incident charged with assaulting officer

A witness who said she escaped out the back door told an officer that her boyfriend, Garza, was inside and was threatening to shoot her, records state.

Members of the Baytown Police Department’s SWAT team took down an iron fence on the property and surrounded the house, according to a complaint filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

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Missing 81-year-old Houston man located

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Missing 81-year-old Houston man located

Authorities have located an 81-year-old man who went missing in southwest Houston Tuesday.
Officers found Peter Chinh and returned him home on Wednesday, Houston police said.
No further information was immediately available

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Toddler burned in tub, baby sitter charged

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Toddler burned in tub, baby sitter charged

According to law enforcement records, Parker was baby-sitting the little boy on Nov. 21, along with his 5-year-old daughter, while his girlfriend was at work.

The girlfriend told Houston police that Parker called her at work and said her son had been burned in the bath tub, according to a complaint filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s office.

An HPD investigator who measured the water temperature at the southwest Houston apartment said it reached up to 113 degrees, and hit 107 degrees within seconds of the faucet being turned on, the complaint stated.

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Boxing a hit with St. Mark’s Episcopal pastor

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Boxing a hit with St. Mark’s Episcopal pastor

Do you turn the other cheek or keep your hands up, lead with your body and throw a left hook?

About five years ago, Miller was working at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston when he saw “Boxing Lessons” painted on the side of a two-story building.

Wearing his clerical collar, he entered the Savarese Fight Gym at 1612 Austin St.

Training about three times a week, he said, common-sense rules of the fight club often feel like epiphanies he can use in pastoral care.

Benton believes most people have a misconception about the clientele at a boxing gym.

Miller and his wife Allison, an attorney, have two children, Henry, 9, and Katherine, 5.

Miller related boxing to confronting his own “shadow self,” as posited by author Carl Jung.

A shadow self isn’t either/or, it just ‘is,’ and you have to pay attention to it.

“[...] I don’t have the answer to that,” said Miller.

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Reputed gang member allegedly terrorized woman as retribution

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Reputed gang member allegedly terrorized woman as retribution

Investigators said Godinez took the woman to a boarded-up vacant house with graffiti on the walls in the Humble area, where he “terrorized and assaulted her” by pulling her hair and busting her lip with his hand, the complaint states.

The victim’s mother said she received texts from the suspect saying that he had her daughter in custody “because he was paying her back,” the complaint states.

When the suspect left the abandoned house Jan. 22, his girlfriend arrived, gave the victim food and water and allowed her to return home, according to the criminal complaint.

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