Northwest Houston edition | Volume 2, Issue 5 | Jan. 21 ......Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Fairfield and...

More area businesses and hospitals combat unhealthy lifestyles

Health interest increases, obesity still a factor

Master-planned developments create sense of community

The rise of a neighborhood

Streamline Fitness offers a new, alternative form of exercise for residents tired of the treadmill. Here, clients box to stay in shape.

By Betsy EllisonAs urbanization continues to spread

to all corners of the area, master-planned communities are working to preserve the close-knit environment within Cy-Fair and create their own community atmospheres.

Master-planned communities, such as Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Fairfield and Cypress Creek Lakes, offer residents the opportunity to live, work and play without having to travel far. Residents are moving to these areas to become part of the small- town feeling.

“Creating a community is simple and complex all at the same time,” said Randy Young, director of operations for Caldwell Companies, the developer of the 2,400-acre Towne Lake. “There are details and techni-cal aspects, but at its heart, you need to fig-ure out where homebuyers want to live and what their ideal area to live in is.”

The need for communityWith no zoning laws in Hous-

ton or its extraterritorial jurisdictions,

master-planned community developers, such as Peter Houghton, vice president for Bridgeland, an 11,400-acre community owned by the Howard Hughes Corpora-tion, said home buyers were concerned with not knowing what type of businesses or industries could be placed in their neighborhoods.

Master-planned communities follow restrictions set by a development company, therefore, homebuyers know before mov-ing to the area what amenities and busi-nesses are to come.

“A lot of communities don’t tell people what is coming in the future because they don’t want to be restricted upfront, but we have chosen just the opposite,” Houghton said. “Master-planned communities show people a vision and say here it is. Then, we have to execute it exactly.”

Master-planned communities create more than just a place for people to come home to after work for dinner and bed. Instead, the area has retail centers, grocery

By Molly RyanIt is no secret that America is

struggling with weight gain, and the Houston area is not immune to this problem. In response to this issue, a growing number of local businesses and hospitals are working to improve community health.

In the past year, the area has seen the opening of a handful of new gyms and alternative exercise

centers and the expansion of weight loss and weight manage-ment centers at local hospitals. Fitness and nutrition experts admit the area still has a long way to go before obesity problems subside, but the growth of the health industry points toward a more positive future.

“In general, if you want people to change their lifestyle habits, you have to make the alterna-tive more attractive, cheaper and more fun than the status quo,” said Rebecca E. Lee, Ph.D., found-ing director of the Texas Obesity Research Center at the University

of Houston. “This is tricky to do. However, it can be done, and a broad constituency that includes strong political will, corporations and key community leaders is needed to make this happen.”

Packing on poundsAccording to the Centers for

Disease Control and Preven-tion, any adult with a body mass index of more than 30 is defined as obese, and any adult with a BMI of more than 40 is defined as morbidly obese. BMI is calculated by comparing a person’s weight to

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See Communities | 13

See Fitness | 16

Rick Berry | 21 Former Cy-Fair ISD superintendent

Richard “Rick” Berry continues to have an influence on the community

Northwest Houston edition | Volume 2, Issue 5 | Jan. 21–Feb. 17, 2011Texas’ fastest growing media company www.impactnews.com Savings Guide begins on Page 31

communitymatters

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The social network | 22Business owner Jason Fry uses social media to promote his company

Fitness Guide | 24Stay in shape with our guide of area health and fitness businesses

impactnews.com

Harris County hands over Grand Parkway to the stateThe county relinquished control of the Grand Parkway project to TxDOT. more.impactnews.com/11197

St. Tower Academy | 14A school uses computer-based lessons to teach special education students

Ed Emmett | 20 The Harris County Judge discusses issues affecting Northwest Houston

Bridgeland

Cypress Creek Lakes

Towne Lake

• Opened 2006• 11,400 acres• 3,000 acres of

natural space

• Opened 2004• 1,600 acres• Connected to

BlackHorse Golf Club

• Opened 2006• 2,400 acres• 300-acre activity

and fishing lake

Residents are moving to master-planned developments because of the numerous amenities they offer, which build a sense of community. These four developments are located along the growing outskirts of the Hwy. 290 area.

Fairfield

• Opened 1988• 3,200 acres• Includes Houston

Premium Outlets

2 | NEWS | Community Impact Newspaper • Northwest Houston Edition

The Second AnnuAl

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TowneLakeTexas.com

*Rain Date – Sunday, February 27, 2011.

Take a spin through the Second Annual Heritage at Towne Lake Car Show for lots of classic and muscle cars, fun rides and much more.

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impactnews.com • January 2011 | NEWS | 3

This month, we are offer-ing the end result of two of our 2010 projects: the redesign of our newspaper and launch of our website at www.impactnews.com.

The end goal for both projects was the same—to improve usefulness and readabil-ity. While most newspapers are focusing their attention on their online presence in response to new trends in the consump-tion of news, we continue to focus on both products with equal passion and commit-ment allowing you to stay informed.

Noteworthy items within the print rede-sign include a new layout of the front page; the organization of stories into sections; more concise features; better utilization of photography and more readable maps. The intent of these changes is to benefit readers by making the newspaper more readable and aesthetically appealing.

Key changes to our website include a better presentation of top stories along with blog-style updates on developing news; enhanced interactivity by allowing readers to submit story ideas; and new features including a map that allows readers to select the locations of local restaurants, retail shops, parks and other points of interest. If you have not signed up to receive our bi-weekly eNewsletter at www.impact-news.com/signup in the past, this is one more way to stay up-to-date on hyperlocal news affecting you.

Regardless of how you prefer your news—in the mail or by computer—I hope you find what you are looking for. If not, e-mail us or send us a letter. We don’t have a preference.

Market Publisher’s Note Contents

Reader Feedback impactnews.com

Jason [email protected]

4 Impacts

7 Calendar

8 Construction DPS to open new crime lab

9 Transportation Hwy. 290 diamond lanes

11 City and County

12 At the Capitol Redistricting Texas 2011

14 Education School focuses on special education

9601 Jones Road, Ste. 222Houston, TX 77065 • 281-469-6181www.impactnews.com

Publisher / Chief Executive OfficerJohn P. Garrett, [email protected]

Northwest Houston

Market Publisher | Jason CulpepperGeneral Manager | Christi LoveMarket Editor | Molly RyanReporter | Betsy EllisonAccount Executives | Andrea Alford, Robin FallowfieldLead Designer | Rhonda BowersCopy Editor | Sara CressContributing Photographer | Sarah Kerver

Editorial management

Associate Publisher | Claire LoveExecutive Editor | Cathy KincaidManaging Editor | Shannon CollettiCreative Director | Derek SullivanAd Production Manager | Tiffany Knight

Administrative management

Chief Operating Officer | Jennifer GarrettChief Financial Officer | Darren LesmeisterBusiness Director | Misty PrattCirculation & Operations Manager | David Ludwick

About us

Community Impact Newspaper, owned by John and Jennifer Garrett, is Texas’ fastest growing news organization. We now distribute to more than 600,000 homes and businesses in seven markets in Central Texas and two in the Northwest Houston area.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions to our other editions are available for $3 per issue. Visit impactnews.com/subscribe.

Contact us

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©2010 JGMedia, Inc., All Rights Reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without written permission from the publisher.

Online-exclusive contentVisit the Northwest Houston home page for up-to-date community news, information

and a full calendar of local events. Find us online at impactnews.com/northwest-houston.

Impact your inboxSign up to receive Community Impact Newspaper’s weekly updates at impactnews.com/signup.

Local jobsPost your résumé and search for local jobs at impactnews.jobing.com.

November employment trendsHouston/Sugar Land/Baytown unemployment—8.6%

Up from 8.2% in October

State unemployment—8.2%*Up from 8.1% in October

National unemployment—9.8%*Up from 9.6% in October

In the Houston area, trade, transportation and utilities added 8,600 jobs; government, 2,300 jobs; education and health services,1,600 jobs; mining and logging, 300 jobs; leisure and hospitality, 300 jobs; other services, 200 jobs; and information,100 jobs.

Lone Star College Cy-Fair president: Audre Levymore.impactnews.com/10838

“Dr. Levy is a fine role model for many CEOs in the trenches today. Her true grit is an example of determination and meeting the challenges in support of students. I have known her for many years and write to say I enjoyed reading her interview.”

—Ed V.

How significant do you think the impact of the outlet expansion, the Greenway Project and Sysco will be for the area?

I think there will be a major impact. These entities are not only bringing more people to the area, but also more op-portunities and resources for current residents.

60%I don’t think we will see an impact for a while. As these entities grow and gain more recognition, then we will see a greater impact further in the future.

23%I am excited to see growth, but don’t think there will be much of an impact.

17%Results from an unscientific web survey, collected 12/17/10–1/11/11

17 Business Six Strings Music Academy

Reptiles Select

19 Dining Dario’s American Cuisine

20 People Ed Emmett, Harris County Judge

Richard “Rick” Berry

22 Technology The social network

24 Guide Health and fitness

26 History Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce

27 Regional

29 Real Estate

News

Features

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TWC*Seasonally adjusted numbers

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Now Open

1 Mother and daughter team Cozetta Evans and Countess Schatz serve homemade chicken salad, quiche and chocolate fudge cake at their recently opened restaurant, Royal Tea Room. The tea room is located in an antique yellow house on 25610 Hempstead Road and is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., daily. A private room is available for princess birthday parties and other private parties. 281-256-6665, www.theroyaltearoom.com

2 Ocean Star Seafood & Sushi Buffet, which opened Dec. 11, serves a buffet of Chinese food dishes, fresh sushi and Mongolian barbecue at 12266 FM 1960 W. Manager Steven Chen said his favorite dish is the roe salmon. Catering and party room accommodations are available. 281-890-1888

3 An authentic Mediterranean restaurant, Tarboosh Mediterranean Cafe, combines the flavors of Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. Specialities include beef, chicken and vegetable kabobs. The restaurant, which is located at 10701 Jones

Road, also sells its own special blend of spices that it puts on its shawarma. 281-807-1110, www.tarbooshcafe.com

4 Pretty Woman Fashion Accessories recently began selling unique fashion jewelry, handbags, watches and belts for affordable prices at 6543 Hwy. 6 N., Ste. 5. Owners Dan and Heather Ossy said the bejeweled fashion necklaces are popular items at their store. 281-463-8710

5 Sakura Tokyo, a Japanese sushi and hibachi grill, held its grand opening celebration Jan. 12 at 24110 Hwy. 290. This is the third location that owner, Tony Tran, has opened, but the first in the Cy-Fair area. 281-758-3878, www.sakuraar.com

6 Melissa Pontiff opened Suburban Girl Dec. 4 at 12320 Barker Cypress Road, Ste. 900. The 1,000-square-foot showroom offers women’s apparel, accessories and unique gift ideas from national brands and local designers. 281-758-3636, www.suburbangirlgifts.com

7 Jeremiah Patton, owner of Dynamic Extreme Athletics, opened

a 10,000-square-foot cheerleading and exercise facility at 20220 Hempstead Road, Ste. 12 on Jan. 1. More than 30 years of experience in the all-star cheer industry is shared between Patton and head coach and program director, Pepe Bridges. DEA offers classes for ages 18 months to 18 years old. 713-397-6608, www.deacheer.com

8 Boston’s Pizza, a national restaurant chain, opened its first Houston location at 17125 Hwy. 249. Boston’s menu consists of more than just pizzas and includes pastas, hamburgers and seafood dishes. Twenty four flat-screen televisions are spread throughout the building, which also includes a sports bar area. 281-469-5959, www.bostons.com

9 Blue Fish Pediatrics opened its second location in the Northwest Houston area at 9530 Huffmeister Road on Nov. 1, expanding from its first location at the Memorial City Hospital. The physicians are Dr. Jill Eddings and Dr. Suyearnyn, both fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics. 281-855-3700,www.bluefishmd.com

IMPACTS

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Suburban Girl owner Melissa Pontiff sells gift items and apparel at her boutique.

Dynamic Extreme Athletic’s head coach, Pepe Bridges (left), and owner, Jeremiah Patton.

Coming soon

10 An upscale fish market and restaurant, Genesis Fish Market Restaurant & Grill, is coming to 17037 FM 529, Ste. 9. In addition to having a fresh fish market, the restaurant will serve grilled and broiled fish and shrimp. Owner Tony Myers said he expects to open the restaurant in April. 281-207-5661

11 State Farm agent Joel Muller is constructing a new office at 11740 Barker Cypress Road. His agency, which has been operating for more than 30 years, sells life, health, property and commercial insurance. Muller said he expects to move from his current location at 7825 Hwy. 6 N. in May. 281-463-8709, www.joelmuller.com

12 Suntouch Yoga will open its studio Feb. 14 at 19708 Hwy. 290, and offer a variety of cool, warm and hot temperature yoga classes for all levels of practice. Carlos and Gloria Ruiz, owners of Suntouch, share a number of years of experience practicing and teaching yoga and meditation. Pre-registration for classes is available through Suntouch’s website. 281-889-5070, www.suntouchyoga.com

13 North Cypress Medical Center has plans to break ground on the construction of a 24-hour emergency care center on the southwest corner of Hwy. 290 and Fry Road. 832-912-3773, www.ncmc-hospital.com

14 New Regional Planning confirmed the restaurant Cheddar’s Casual Cafe is under construction on the corner of Barker Cypress and Hwy. 290. The restaurant, which offers casual American cuisine, is expected to open in the second quarter of 2011. www.cheddars.com

New Ownership

15 Jay and Monica Barger took over the PostNet at 10807 Jones Road on Dec. 1. The store still offers the same printing, shipping, notary and fax services as before and also has 150 24-hour accessible mailboxes for area residents. 281-970-0400, [email protected]

Relocations

16 On Jan. 18, Kumon of Steeplechase moved from 9344 Jones Road, Ste. E to a new building at 11110 Steeplecrest Drive. Kumon, which also has a location in Fairfield, offers reading and math tutoring for students in preschool through college. 281-955-6284, www.kumonfs.com

Ocean Star Seafood & Sushi Buffet offers handmade rolls with fresh fish.

News or questions about Northwest Houston? E-mail [email protected].

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CALENDAR

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Find more or submit Northwest Houston events at www.impactnews.com/nwh/calendar.

For a full list of Northwest Houston events visit www.impactnews.com/houston-metro/calendar.

To have Northwest Houston events included in the print edition, they must be submitted online by the 5th of the month.

Jan. 23By Betsy Ellison

Northwest Cyclery sponsors the FrostBike 50, a BP MS 150 recommended ride. The ride launches from Lone Star College–CyFair and takes participants on either a 17-, 45- or 55-mile bicycle ride around the Cypress area.

Previous years have brought between 800 and 1,300 participants to this event, which is the annual fundraiser for the Jersey Village High School Gold Duster Drill Team.

“The girls really look forward to it every year,” said Juliette Mucci, ride director for this year’s event. “They all bring banana bread for the riders and decorate the rest stops and cheer them on with posters.”

Interested participants can register in person at Northwest Cyclery Jan. 21 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Jan. 22 noon–5 p.m. or at the race. Lunch is served to race participants from 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

8 a.m. • $40 • LSC–CyFair, 9191 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress • Northwest Cyclery, 17458 Hwy. 290, Houston • www.frostbike50.com

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The FrostBike 50 takes cyclists through Cypress and to areas as far as Old Washington Road.

9th Annual FrostBike 50January22 Electronic waste recycling eventGo Green Coles Crossing hosts its fourth annual electronic waste recycling event sponsored by Houston Computer Recycling. The community is invited to drop off used electronic items such as desktop and notebook PCs, printers and fax machines. All personal information on the devices’ memory drives should be erased before they are turned in. Household appliances and hazardous waste are not accepted. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. • FreeColes Crossing lap pool parking lot, 13050 Barker Cypress Road, Cypresswww.gogreencolescrossing.com

College FairCypress Lakes High School hosts an informational college fair open to the public, which includes sessions on preparing for college and the work force. Representatives from different colleges and the military are available for questions, and there is a childcare center for children ages 3 to 10. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Free • Cypress Lakes High School, 5750 Greenhouse Road, Cypress http://schools.cfisd.net/cylakes

Rosehill Social Club Dance BenefitThe Rosehill Social Club, a nonprofit organization that raises money for local families in need of assistance, hosts its annual dance benefit at Tin Hall. The Country Knights, a country band from Hawaii, performs at the event. 8:30 p.m. • $10 (adults), free for kids Tin Hall, 14800 Tin Hall Road, Cypress 713-664-7450 • www.tinhall.com

29–30 5th Annual Katy Home & Garden ShowHeld at the Merrell Center and L.D. Robinson Pavilion, the 5th Annual Katy Home & Garden Show features 300 exhibits, including decorating and do-it-yourself ideas, kitchen and bathroom items and landscaping services. In addition, at the Brookwood Community’s Gift and Garden Market at the pavilion, all sales go toward the nonprofit community to help support adults with functional disabilities. Sat. 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. $4–$8, free for ages 12 and under • Merrell Center, 6301 South Stadium Lane, Katy 281-392-2177 www.katyhomeandgardenshow.com

Online Calendar

30 Northwest Private School PreviewParents and students interested in applying to private, independent and parochial schools learn about area schools at the ninth annual preview. Representatives from more than 20 elementary, middle and high schools discuss educational opportunities, tuition, college preparedness and individual questions. 3–5 p.m. • Free • Cypress Creek YMCA Youth Center, 19915 Hwy. 249, Houston 281-351-8114

February5 Cy-Fair ISD FFA Livestock SaleStudents from all Cy-Fair ISD FFA classes show and auction animals they have raised throughout the year. During the live auction, students sell rabbits, chickens, goats, hogs and steers. There is also a freezer sale in which buyers can purchase animals that will be butchered. 11 a.m (buyers’ luncheon), 1–6 p.m (premium sale) • Free Cypress-Fairbanks Exhibit Center, 11206 Telge Road, Cypress • www.cfisd.net

11–20 “Anne of Green Gables”The Teen Actors Guild at the Houston Family Arts Center performs the play based on the novel about Ann Shirley. The story follows Ann, an orphan, from her youth on a farm through her school years. Performances are on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Show times vary • $12 10760 Grant Road, Houston • 281-685-6374 www.houstonfac.org

12 Special Education Parent Conference and Resource FairFamily to Family Network, a nonprofit organization that helps parents of disabled children learn about different educational opportunities, and the Katy Independent School District sponsor the sixth annual conference and fair. During the event, parents who have children with disabilities receive information topics ranging from disability law to positive behavioral strategies. Conference sessions will be 75 minutes long. Pre-registration is recommended. 8 a.m.– 4:15 p.m. • $20 Cinco Ranch High School, 23440 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Katy • 713-466-6304 www.familytofamilynetwork.org

Love Life Song of Solomon ConferenceCypress Fellowship invites the community to this conference about love, life and healthy marriages. The six-hour conference is open to anyone 16 years and older who would like to learn more about loving relationships.9 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. • $25 • 15014 Spring Cypress Road, Cypress • 713-574-6301 www.cypressfellowship.org

“Salute to our Heroes”At the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation’s third annual gala, attendees honor America’s armed forces through a ceremony and a “Missing Man Table.” The event also serves as a fundraiser for the foundation, which provides college scholarships to Cy-Fair ISD students. The evening includes silent and live auctions and live entertainment. 6:30 p.m. • $25 tickets, Sponsorships start at $150 • Enchanted Cypress Ballroom, 12603 Louetta Road, Cypress • 281-807-3591 • www.thecfef.org

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29–30 22nd Cy-Fair Go Texan Cook-offSponsored by the Houston Metro Cy-Fair Go Texan Committee, the 22nd BBQ & Chili Cook-off benefits the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Cy-Fair community. Cook-off teams

interested in participating should contact Greg Knox. 9 a.m. (market opens), noon (cook-off activities) • $3 (parking) • Trader’s Village, 7979 N. Eldridge Road, [email protected] www.tradersvillage.com/houston

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CONSTRUCTION

By Molly RyanThe Texas Department of Public

Safety is nearing its completion date for the construction of a new $19.1 million, 40,000-square-foot crime lab building at its office site on West Road. After more than a year of construction, DPS expects to open the building in February.

Once complete, the crime lab building will be 28,500-square-feet larger than the old crime lab. Since the lab space is larger, the department will have space for 16 addi-tional employees. Also, the lab will have room for more tools, and it is ordering new DNA testing equipment.

“[DPS] needed more lab space to per-form forensic testing due to higher demand for services from area law enforcement agencies,” said Tom Vinger, assistant chief of media relations for DPS.

The crime lab examines forensic evi-dence for law enforcement agencies in 20 counties in the southeast Texas area.

“Only a small percentage of our cases come from Harris County since the Hous-ton Police Department and the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office have their own labs,” Vinger said. “We service the surrounding counties from Wharton to Louisiana and up to Nacogdoches.”

Despite having their own labs, Houston and Harris County agencies still use the DPS crime lab for services such as foot-wear impression comparisons and fiber and paint comparisons.

In addition to comparison services, the new crime lab will continue its services of drug analysis, trace evidence testing and blood alcohol analysis. New services include a firearms department, which compares firearms and ammunition components to help investigators deter-mine the correct criminal weapon; a latent

Department of Public Safety to open new crime lab in area

The Department of Public Safety will open its new crime lab in this eco-friendly building in February.

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fingerprint department, which analyzes fingerprints on different surfaces; and an expanded DNA testing department.

“[The lab will] enable more criminal cases to be investigated,” Vinger said.

Funding for the new lab came from Proposition 4, a constitutional amendment passed by Texas voters in 2007. The propo-sition granted the Texas DPS $200 million in bonds for construction projects at its offices across the state, including the cost of construction of the West Road crime lab.

DPS also used Proposition 4 funds to expand or build crime labs in Austin, Abilene, Corpus Christi, El Paso and Tyler.

Vinger said DPS has no plans to further expand the crime lab or any other depart-ments at the West Road office location. However, the old crime lab space will be remodeled to alleviate crowding in other DPS departments including the motor carrier bureau, IT support and the driver’s license administrative staff.

Texas Department of Public Safety 12230 West Road, Houston281-517-4523www.txdps.state.tx.us

290

Castlebridge Dr.

West Rd.

DPS crime lab services

•Blood alcohol analysis– examines blood samples for alcohol levels

•DNA testing– tests and compares biological materials for DNA results

•Drug analysis– examines blood and urine for the pres-ence of drugs and analyzes drug samples

•Firearms– compares and records bullets, cartridge cases and firearms in criminal cases

•Latent fingerprint– processes, preserves and com-pares print evidence on different surfaces

•Trace evidence– tests evidence such as hair, fibers, paint, glass and shoe prints

Source: Department of Public Safey

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TRANSPORTATION

By Molly RyanThe Texas Department of Transporta-

tion and the Metropolitan Transit Author-ity of Harris County are working on the latest transportation project to relieve congestion on Hwy. 290—new diamond lanes.

The diamond lanes, which will span a distance of about six miles, are expected to facili-tate entry onto high occupancy vehicle lanes and decrease traveling time for multi-passenger vehicles.

George Smalley, vice president of com-munications and marketing for Metro, said the lanes will be constructed on both the westbound and eastbound sides of Hwy. 290 between the end of the HOV lane on Eldridge Parkway and the Cypress Park and Ride station on Skinner Road.

Smalley said during peak traveling hours, commuters could save up to 20 min-utes of travel time using diamond lanes.

Construction is expected to begin within the next three months. During

Construction planned for new Hwy. 290 diamond lanes

construction, the current inside shoulders of Hwy. 290 will be converted into dia-mond lanes. This process is fairly simple, and it will consist of restriping the pave-ment and adding diamond lane signs.

In certain areas, the mainline pavement will be widened to make space for the extra lane. There will be no raised bar-rier separating the diamond lanes from regular traffic lanes.

“Adding diamond lanes is great because it will allow people

carpooling to have easier access to HOV lanes,” said Karen Othon, public informa-tion officer for the US 290/ Hempstead Corridor program.

The lanes are expected to open to the public in June. When complete, the approximately 1,100 commuters who use the Cypress Park & Ride system to travel down-town on workdays and the 6,600 vehicles that use the Hwy. 290 HOV lanes will save an average of 10 minutes on most trips.

Hwy. 290 Diamond Lanes

Barker Cypress Rd.

West Rd.

Jarvis Rd.

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Cypress Park and Ride

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SAM HOUSTON

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Source: Metro

Typical inside shoulder view–existing

Typical inside shoulder view–proposed

Cost: $513,000

Funding: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

Expected completion date: June

Users: Metro buses, all vehicles with two or more passengers

Hours: 24-hour access

New diamond lanes on Hwy. 290 that stretch from Eldridge Parkway to Skinner Road will decrease travel times for multi-passenger vehicles. The lanes will also facilitate entry onto the high occupancy vehicle lane on Hwy. 290.

Current HOV lane

Proposed diamond lane extension

Current HOV lane access

“Adding diamond lanes is great because it will allow people carpooling to have easier access to HOV lanes.”

—Karen Othon US 290/Hempstead Corridor program

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Jersey Village City CouncilJersey Village Civic Center, 16327 Lakeview Drive, Jersey Villagewww.jerseyvillage.info

Feb. 21, 7 p.m.

Meetings are the third Monday of the month.

Harris County Commissioners CourtHarris County Administration Building, 1001 Preston Street, Houston www.hctx.net

Jan. 25, 10 a.m.

Meetings are every other Tuesday.

CITY AND COUNTY

Jersey Village

Harris County

Meetings

The three used car dealerships on Jones Road will not be affected by an amortization clause.

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Council votes to eliminate amortization clause

At its Dec. 13 meeting, City Council voted in favor of eliminating the previ-ously passed amortization clause for the city’s motor vehicle sales overlay ordinance, which requires all vehicle sales outside of the specified area to cease within three years. The motor vehicle sales overlay consists of multiple car dealerships along Hwy. 290 within the city limits, but does not include three used-car dealerships on Jones Road. The elimination of the amortization clause will allow these three dealerships to con-tinue their business, as long as they stay

New Dynamo stadium moves forward

Harris County, the City of Houston and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority are forging ahead with the development of a new Houston Dynamo soccer stadium.

On Dec. 21, Commissioners Court approved a ground lease agreement with the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority for the site of the stadium, which will be located just east of down-town Houston.

The stadium will be of no cost to the county or the city. Judge Ed Emmett assured concerned taxpayers the Dynamo would pay for all the stadium costs including the land lease, construc-tion and maintenance, which total around $130 million.

“The facts are the soccer team will be paying for its own stadium,” he said.

The county and the city will fund public infrastructure developments at and near the stadium from incremental tax revenue secured by a Tax Incre-ment Reinvestment Zone. The county

in the same line of business. If the busi-nesses changes the purpose from selling motor vehicles, it can no longer return to being a car dealership.

is expected to join the TIRZ at the end of January.

In a TIRZ agreement, a specific area, or zone, has a contract with a city and/or county. The agreement is for a set number of years. It states that the county and/or city will collect the same property tax rev-enue as it has in previous years in the area. If there are any developments in the area that cause it to have increased property taxes, the additional property tax revenue will be used by the city and/or county to make area improvements.

After the agreement ends, if property taxes are still higher, the city and county benefit from more tax money. If they are lower or the same rates, the city and the county did not lose any money in the process.

The TIRZ agreement for the area around the stadium lasts until 2040. In this agree-ment, any property tax revenue raised in addition to the base property tax revenue of the stadium area will go toward public infrastructure developments such as new sidewalks and updated sewer lines. Base property tax revenue will still go to the city and county.

New police chief increases patrol in recent crime area

At the Nov. 15 city council meeting, the manager of the Promenade Apartments on Steeple Way Boulevard asked the city to consider installing streetlights in front of the complex due to an increase in crime.

New Chief of Police Eric Foerster reported to council at the Dec. 13 meeting that the area has been surveyed over the past month, and more officers have been placed to patrol the area, including foot and bike patrols.

Council will receive an official report from Chief Foerster and a recommenda-tion from City Manager Mike Castro at the January meeting.

Garcia ends term, Commissioners Court loses Hispanic voice

Precinct 2 Commis-sioner Sylvia R. Garcia completed her term at Commissioners Court Dec. 21. Starting Jan.1, political newcomer Jack Morman, a lawyer, took her place repre-senting areas in east Harris County.

Garcia, a Democrat who has held the commissioner’s seat since 2003, lost the November election to Morman, a Republi-can, by a small margin.

She was the first Hispanic woman to be elected to her former position.

With Garcia no longer in office, Com-missioners Court no longer contains a Hispanic or a female voice. According to US Census estimates from 2009, Harris County is 39.8 percent Hispanic.

At Commissioners Court Dec. 7, rep-resentatives from the Texas Organizing Project, an organization promoting low-income and minority issues, spoke to the court about these concerns with the new leadership. Representatives said they are worried about Hispanic and immigration rights when Garcia leaves office, and they hope the new commissioner will listen to their sentiments.

tax increment reivinvestment zone

what is it?Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones are created to attract new investment to an area. TIRZs help finance the cost of redevelopment and encourage development in an area. Taxes attributable to new improvements (tax increments) are set aside in a fund to finance public improvements within the boundaries of the zone.

how does it work?

Any incremental tax revenue produced by property taxes will be used to pay for public infrastructure.

Investment area

TIRZ agreement

New property development

More tax money

Pay back bonds; more public

improvements

Public improvements

Source: City of Houston

basic tirz principle

equals

minus

New tax revenue from developments

Tax revenue before TIRZ

Money for new public infrastructure

Sylvia Garcia

What if coupons were free?

Compiled by Betsy Ellison and Molly Ryan


AT THE CAPITOL

By Molly RyanEvery 10 years, after the census results

are turned in, the Texas Legislature must attempt to redraw the boundaries for its U.S. Congressional districts, State Representative districts and State Sen-ate districts. This year is no different, and legislators are gearing up for a fight over rural, urban, and Democrat-majority and Republican-majority district lines. In addi-tion, one of the most important struggles will be drawing four new congressional districts in the state.

“Redistricting will consume a lot of our time,” said Sen. John Whitmire–D, District 15. “We have to balance the legislative dis-tricts to where the growth areas are.”

The processLegislators must work together to draw

and pass the new district lines through the Texas House and Senate by May 30. If the Legislature does not approve the districts by this time, the responsibility falls onto the Legislative Redistricting Board, which is composed of the lieutenant governor, comptroller of public accounts, commis-sioner of the Texas General Land Office, speaker of the House and attorney general.

After the LRB decides on the districts, anyone can argue the legality of the new lines in court.

“You can for certain anticipate that someone is going to go to court,” Whit-mire said. “The losers will end up in court.”

The issuesAlthough the principle of redistricting is

to place an equal number of people in each district, Whitmire said the actual process of redrawing districts is more complex.

For example, Republicans want to draw districts that have better chances of elect-ing Republican legislators, and Democrats want to draw districts that have better chances of electing Democratic legislators.

“The elections this year were crucial

Redistricting Texas 2011

because, ultimately, the Republicans [who have the legislative majority] are going to want to control the districts and the Legislature for the next 10 years,” said James Brown, chair of the political science department for Lone Star College-CyFair.

Legislators are also required to consider minority and special-interest areas. Under federal law, it is illegal to draw districts that put certain minority groups at a voting disadvantage or advantage.

This year, legislators will consider a third factor when redistricting: urban and rural areas. Census estimates show rural areas losing population while urban areas are gaining population. This could cause struggles between rural legislators who do not want to lose their seats and urban leg-islators who want more seats in their area.

PredictionsBased on U.S. census numbers released

Dec. 21, population growth will contribute to four additional U.S. Congress seats.

Rep. Gary Elkins–R, District 135, said he expects the Northwest Houston area to get one of the four additional congress seats.

In regard to redistricting in the Texas House of Representatives, Elkins said it would be hard to find strong districts for the 101 Republicans currently in office because some of the new, growing districts will favor Democrats.

Texas House districts before and after 2001 redistricting

Local state legislators’ priorities in the upcoming session

Bef

or

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Sen. Dan Patrick–R, District 7“My legislative priorities for this session will reflect the values of the voters who elected me. This includes passing a limited budget, protecting our borders, lowering the tax burden on homes and businesses as well as protecting the lives of the unborn.”

Sen. John Whitmire–D, District 15“The main issue is this budget. It will be the number one priority because the state has financial difficulties. I also want to fight to see that the state provides basic services for education, transportation and criminal justice. I chair the criminal justice committee. There will be a lot of emphasis on DWI laws and making sure the probation and parole systems work well.”

Rep. Bill Callegari–R, District 132“From a general standpoint, our major part is to pass the budget. We are very likely to have a shortfall of $20 billion. We will have to work strong and hard to do what we can to trim the budget. It will cause some difficulty for schools and medical services—those will probably take a good hit. But we would like to minimize the impact on those two.”

Rep. Gary Elkins–R, District 135“My personal priorities are a voter ID bill, some border security measures, some sonogram [before] abortion bill, to balance the budget without raising taxes and whatever we can do to repeal Obamacare at the state level. [Another] one of my legislative goals is to repeal the sunset process. On the more local level, we have to find a way to fund our roads better.”

Rep. Allen Fletcher–R, Distict 130“We face a difficult session beginning in January: there has never before been a session with both redistricting and budget shortfalls to handle. My priority has been and always will be doing the best job possible for District 130 and being their voice in Austin.”

Rep. Patricia Harless–R, District 126

“I think one of the most important things that our office is working on is some type of voter photo ID bill. We have also filed immigration legislation to withhold funds for cities that provide sanctu-aries for illegal immigrants. Along with that, continuing to work on making stronger standards for illegal, illegitimate massage parlors along FM 1960 and to help with human trafficking issues.”

Harris County

130 135

126

150

130

132

135

126

Montgomery CountyMontgomery County

WallerCounty

AfT

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290

1960

249

6

45

10

290

1960

249

6

45

10

WallerCounty

Harris County

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stores, churches and schools.Other planned communities in the

Houston area, such as The Woodlands and Cinco Ranch, have become known destina-tions for nearby residents and tourists to lodge, shop and dine, and this is the hope for developments in the northwest area.

“I think the Cypress area is very fasci-nating because, although there is no cen-tral nucleus, it is a very unified area with a strong chamber and school district,” Young said. “But, it is one of the largest areas with-out a central hub for residents.”

Creating a communityTim Fitzpatrick, community develop-

ment manager with Friendswood Devel-opment Company, which created Fairfield, a 3,200-acre community that opened in 1988, said it takes effort from the developer to bring residents together when the com-munity first opens.

“You don’t want a community to sim-ply be a bedroom community,” Fitzpatrick said. “It is an evolutionary project where you might not have all those services that you need at first, but you want to make sure that everyone gets involved early on and eventually the residents will take over cer-tain projects.”

Fitzpatrick said Fairfield’s youth sports association was a big project the develop-ment worked to get its residents involved with, and now, the property has multiple soccer and baseball fields, swimming pools and recreation centers. He said this is one thing he thinks draws people into the com-munity.

When master-planned com-munities are first developed, there are certain aspects they must contain from the begin-ning, such as homeowners associations and municipal utility districts.

Roy Behrens, Jr., vice president for Mischer Development and project direc-tor for Cypress Creek Lakes, a 1,600-acre

area, said it is the developer’s responsibility to start these organizations, but eventually the residents take these over.

In a master-planned community, there might be more than one HOA for separate villages and a master association board

that governs the shared com-mon areas of the d e v e l o p m e nt , such as town centers and large r e c r e a t i o n a l facilities.

HOAs are an important aspect for planned developments as they help to enforce the restrictions and governing documents set by the development company.

MUDs are equally as important because

they provide water, drainage and sewage services to the communities. Based on the number of acres in an area, there can be multiple MUDs created for one develop-ment.

Keeping community aliveDespite the economic downturn, master-

planned communities are continuing to flourish through home sales and the devel-opment of amenities such as retail and din-ing centers, parks and trails.

“When things go south, drive around and look in the master planned communi-ties,” Fitzpatrick said. “You don’t see a sea of empty lots or half-built homes or foreclo-sures—it is an investment decision from the homebuyer from day one. You are getting a really good home value, the convenience of

schools and a neighborhood with a level of amenities.”

Another aspect of these planned devel-opments that help bring a sense of over-all community are their scheduled events throughout the year, both for residents and the public.

Some large events, such as Bridgeland’s Nature Fest or Towne Lake’s Fourth of July fireworks show, invite the public to come into the master-planned community. Other events, such as yoga classes and bi-annual neighborhood garage sales, offer residents the chance to interact with their neighbors.

“Community is interaction,” Young said. “You have to offer the chance to unify peo-ple and get them out of their houses.”

Comment at more.impactnews.com/11196

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Fairfield offers numerous sports leagues, including baseball and softball teams, which start in the spring.

Bridgeland hosts events throughout the year, including Nature Fest, in which children of all ages can learn about the importance of wildlife.

Towne Lake’s 300-acre lake offers residents recreation in their backyards. Cypress Creek Lakes has a large splash pad for residents.

“Master-planned communities show people a vision. Then, we have to execute it exactly.”

—Peter Houghton Bridgeland vice president

CommunitiesContinued from | 1

What if the story was your idea?


EDUCATION

By Betsy EllisonSaint Tower Academy, a new school that

focuses on the needs of grade-school spe-cial education students, opened Jan. 3.

“What started out as a home schooling, co-op idea grew into something much more,” said Cindy Szenttornyay, founder and executive director of the school. “Our goal is to help teach these children how to learn so they have that basis their entire lives.”

Saint Tower enrolls children with special needs such as Down syndrome, autism and attention deficit disorder, but Szenttornyay said she plans to keep enrollment options open to any student who may have trouble in a typical classroom.

The private school has an open enroll-ment policy in which parents can set up an admissions meeting with the school at any point during the school’s year-round schedule.

Currently, Saint Tower’s enrollment consists of third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade students, though Szenttornyay said the school hopes to expand to grades K–12 one day.

Szenttornyay’s husband and president of the school, Imre, said Saint Tower’s mis-sion is to provide an affordable environ-ment where students can grow and learn.

Admission for Saint Tower is $1,200 a month, and Imre said scholarship oppor-tunities are available.

Frank Burns, director of education for the school, holds a master’s degree in spe-cial education and said his main goals are to provide an individualized program and have each student move forward based on his or her ability to learn.

The school offers a core curriculum, which includes math, science, reading and social studies. Extracurricular activities,

Saint Tower AcademyNew private school focuses on special education

During the first week of class, teacher Frank Burns worked with students to assess their abilities.

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such as physical education and art will be offered off campus. Members from the community are welcome to volunteer with Saint Tower and teach a specialty subject, such as photography.

“We want the community to feel like this is also their school,” Szenttornyay said. “We want our kids to graduate and go out into a community where they’ve already interacted with and met people who have shared experiences with them in school.”

Lessons are taught using computer pro-grams Burns set up for each student’s need. These programs provide a visually-stimu-lating learning environment, which Burns said is best for special education students.

“We are going to find out what the stu-dents’ interests are,” Burns said. “If a stu-dent happens to like sharks, we will imple-ment sharks into his curriculum somehow. We are putting in that extra incentive to find out what makes these students tick and not limit what they can learn.”

Saint Tower AcademyAdministrative office16518 House and Hahl RoadCypress • 281-971-1965www.sainttower.com

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Mound Rd.

Admissions information

To set up a meeting with Saint Tower Academy, contact the school at 281-971-1965 or [email protected]. Also, a downloadable application will be available on the school’s website soon.

Saint Tower AcademyClassroomsSt. Aiden’s Episcopal Church13131 Fry Road, Cypress

290Hempstead Rd.

Fry

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their height. It provides an indicator of a person’s body fat content.

In 1988, the CDC found less than 10 percent of Texas’ population was obese. In 2009, it found 28.7 percent of Texas’ popu-lation was obese.

Health and obesity experts have differ-ing opinions on why Texans, and especially Houston residents, have struggled with weight gain over the past 10 years.

“Like most other major southern cities, we have lots of readily available and cheap food, and everyone has a personal automo-bile,” Lee said. “People work a lot, commute too long and generally have too much stress and not enough time, energy or knowledge to prepare healthful food and take time to be physically active.”

Others say the Houston area has such a large number of overweight people because it is a populous city.

Lee said according to CDC data, Hous-ton has a similar number of obese residents as in other large cities.

“We have often been on the list of being the most morbidly obese city because of population size,” said Wanda Crider, direc-tor of the bariatric program at the North Cypress Medical Center. “Morbid obesity is becoming a significant problem in our society.”

Trimming downThe high rate of area obesity has created

a need for surgical and medical weight loss clinics. In recent months, local hos-pitals have attempted to meet this need by increasing their services.

The North Cypress Medical Center recently launched a comprehensive medi-cal weight loss program as an alternative to weight loss surgery.

“We started seeing a group of people who may not be candidates for weight loss sur-gery, and we needed to provide a service for them,” Crider said. “We have devel-oped comprehensive medical weight loss programs that have certified nutritionists, doctors who can prescribe medicine, sup-port groups for adult weight management and a psychologist on site to help with any counseling.”

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital is also offering more accessible options for people who want to surgically lose weight. In Sep-tember, the hospital acquired a Da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic surgical tool that helps doctors perform surgeries—includ-ing bariatric or weight loss surgeries—through minimally invasive procedures. In certain cases, these surgeries can be cov-ered by health insurance.

“The advantage of robotic surgery is smaller incisions, less scarring, decreased pain and a faster recovery time,” said Lana Gilmore, bariatric and cardiovascular coor-dinator at Methodist Willowbrook.

Gilmore said doctors who use the Da Vinci can perform both gastric bypass and gastric sleeve weight loss surgeries. These

procedures often can eliminate a number of medical conditions including hyperten-sion, type 2 diabetes and infertility.

Breaking a sweatIn addition to medical and surgical

weight loss options, the area has seen an increase in the popularity of exercise facili-ties and health food stores.

“There does seem to be a huge awareness in Cy-Fair for the whole wellness indus-try,” said Mary Evans, president of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce. “It’s probably because of the number of people here, and people are starting to get better educated and more informed. With that knowledge, they are making better choices.”

Not all of these better choices involve going to a traditional gym. Many new and growing exercise facilities in the area offer an alternative to treadmills and weight lift-ing. For instance, Streamline Fitness, a new mixed martial arts gym, incorporates box-ing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing into group workouts.

“Cypress was lacking something like this,” said Roland “Rambo” San Lucas, co-owner of Streamline Fitness. “Cypress is growing and people are looking for some-thing different [in fitness.]”

In a little more than a year, Streamline Fitness expanded its exercise space and increased its gym membership, a fact that co-owner Jason Craig attributes to the fam-ily-friendly and comfortable atmosphere of the gym.

“I think regardless of what it is, if you are not excited about it, you will burn out,” Craig said. “Most people have never expe-rienced this before…they find a release and a joy in it.”

Other fitness businesses said the area’s growth has contributed to the expansion of their businesses.

Stewart Angst, co-owner of American Health Foods, a family-owned health food store that sells supplements and organic foods, said his business has expanded within the last four years at its Hwy. 249 location.

“This store grew rapidly because nothing was around here and it is a growth area,” he said.

Keeping it offThe increase of medical options, gyms

and health food stores in the area is a step in the direction of eliminating the obesity epidemic. However, Lee believes more needs to be done to end the overweight nature of society.

“We have done such a good job at cre-ating a secure and plentiful food supply and safe and efficient transportation via personal automobiles that now we are see-ing the extreme other side of this prob-lem–obesity,” she said. “We live in a time of plenty, and it takes a huge amount of per-sonal planning, fortitude, knowledge and burden to combat the [obese] environment that we live in.”

Exercise: “In order to maintain your health, it is 30 minutes of exercise minimum a day. In order to lose weight, most people have to bump that up to an hour.”

Stacey recommends breaking up your exercising throughout the day such as taking a 15-minute walk during lunch, taking the stairs at work or parking in the farthest park-ing spot in your office’s parking lot.

Eat breakfast: “Be sure that you have break-fast with a good, lean protein.”

Stacey recommends a slice of whole wheat toast with a half of a cup’s worth of an egg white omelet.

Take small steps: “Look for easy ways to cut out the calories. I have had patients lose up to 15 or 20 pounds by cutting out soda.”

Stacy recommends switching from soda to water.

Eat consistent meals: “The American Diabetic Association promotes consis-

tent meals such as breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Elly recommends not skipping meals and making sure each meal is small.

Choose a meal replacement: “Try a meal replacement for breakfast, lunch or dinner,

like a protein shake.”

Elly recommends replacing a full meal with something under 300 calories.

Eat more fruits, veggies and whole grains: “Replace fast foods with fruits,

vegetables and whole grains.”

Elly recommends stocking up on healthier foods at the grocery store.

Stacey Perrine

Elly Tran

Clinical nutrition manager, Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

Registered dietician, North Cypress Medical Center

Tips

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impactnews.com • January 2011 | FEATURES | 17

Six Strings Music AcademyMusic school teaches rock, blues, jazz, classical and country

O n any given afternoon, a combination of guitar, drum, violin and piano sounds erupt

from a house on Grant Road. This house is the home of Six Strings Music Academy, a music school owned and operated by Armando Rodriguez.

Rodriguez and his staff of eight instructors teach music students of all skill levels everything from electric guitar shredding to classical piano and vocal performance. Throughout his five years in business, Rodriguez has expanded Six Strings’ facility to include seven individual practice rooms, and he has plans to continue teaching as many students and instru-ments as the house can hold.

“Music is life,” Rodriguez said. “We need music—it expresses our feelings, emotions and beliefs.”

Students at Six Strings learn to incorporate music into their lives by learning the basics and gradually working toward an advanced under-standing of musical composition.

Rodriguez said he encourages most of his young students to begin their

instrumental study with Suzuki les-sons. Suzuki is a method for music education in which students are taught classical techniques in a moti-vational, individualized environment. During Suzuki lessons, the parent, the student and the teacher work together to enhance the student’s performance.

“Suzuki is a brain-stimulation activ-ity,” Rodriguez said. “You learn how to work different areas of the brain—you have to read music and have hand-eye coordination. Suzuki is really about finding what works for a customer. It is about nurturing the student.”

Six Strings specializes in teach-ing young children starting at age 5 in groups and in private lessons, but teachers can provide lessons to stu-dents of all ages.

“My favorite part of the business is just being in my room teaching,” Rodriguez said. “The most reward-ing part is seeing [my students] be successful and seeing their confidence and happiness.”

Before Rodriguez opened Six Strings and became a full-time music

teacher, he earned his degree in clas-sical guitar performance at Houston Baptist University and was a profes-sional performing guitarist. However, he soon developed a love of teaching.

“Throughout the years I started teaching more and more children,” he said. “I realized sharing my knowl-edge with them was just as big of a reward as doing a performance.”

Now, instead of booking perfor-mances for himself, Rodriguez hosts two recitals a year and schedules shows for Six Strings’ rock band.

The rock band is a group of advanced students who work together with Rodriguez after school to learn classic rock, country and jazz. In the past, the band has performed hits such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” at local fairs and even at the Miller Outdoor Theatre.

“The idea is to have fun, learn and go out and do it,” Rodriguez said. “It was built to inspire, and before you knew it, everyone jumped in—the gui-tar, bass, keyboard, drum and voice students.”

BUSINESS

Armando Rodriguez specializes in teaching Suzuki music lessons.

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By Molly Ryan

Six Strings Music Academy13302 Grant Road Cypress • 281-320-9180www.6sma.com

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18 | FEATURES | Community Impact Newspaper • Northwest Houston Edition

R udy Mueller caught his first snake when he was 9 years old in a wooded area of a Houston suburb and devel-

oped a passion for all reptiles. Thirty-five years later, he has turned his childhood fascination into a business.

Mueller opened Reptiles Select on Jones Road three years ago, and the store offers a variety of snakes, lizards and exotic mam-mals for sale and also for the curiosity of the community.

“We try to let people know they don’t need to be afraid of the snakes,” said Muel-ler’s wife, Ruthie, who took over the daily operations of the store in May. “They are beautiful animals, and we try to educate our customers [about them].”

From Ball Pythons, which can grow to be five-feet long, to Bearded Dragon liz-ards, which have a friendly nature toward people, Reptiles Select has something for reptile enthusiasts of any age.

“With reptiles, you have your begin-ners and your more top of the line ones,” Mueller said. “We breed a lot of our own animals and also have friends who breed who we buy from.”

The Muellers try to get their reptiles and exotic mammals from people they know personally. They said this way they know they are selling good quality and healthy animals. Also, this helps them to avoid shipping the animals over long distances.

Along with the live merchandise, Rep-tiles Select also serves as a feeder store for people who may already own a reptile, and it has tanks and other accessories for sale.

The store has venomous reptiles on display and some for sale.

Mueller said if customers were to want to purchase a venomous animal at random,

Rudy and Ruthie Mueller, along with their twins, Rudy and Kevin, have turned their interest in reptiles into more than just a hobby.

he would not sell it to them. He said he makes sure the person is buying the ani-mal for the right reasons.

Another aspect of the store is its board-ing service. The Muellers can board a customer’s reptile or exotic mammal over-night or for a couple of days. Rates vary based on feeding needs and the number of days the animal will need to be housed.

Ruthie said her favorite part about this business has been getting to know the customers and recognizing them as soon as they walk into the store.

“We have some customers who come in like clockwork,” she said. “We have all types of customers, too. Reptile owners aren’t stereotyped to big burly, tattooed men anymore.”

By Betsy Ellison

Reptiles SelectFamily offers exotic pets to the community

BUSINESS

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Is it venomous?

The best way to tell if a snake native to America is venomous is in its eyes. The snakes to avoid have slit-shaped pupils. Ruthie said the slit shape is noticeable from a distance. Therefore, passersby do not need to get close to the snake to confirm if it is venomous.

Snake facts

The Muellers take pride in educating their customers about the reptiles in their store. Here are a few little-known facts about their main item for sale—snakes.

•They are not slimy to the touch

•Just like any animal, they do have bowel movements

•Skin mites are to reptiles what fleas are to mammals

•Humidity is needed for a good skin shed to occur

•They all have teeth

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DINING

Dario’s American CuisineCouple brings fine dining experience to area

David and Alicia Herrera stand at the front of Dario’s, which was designed by Herrera to offer the com-munity a full European fine dining experience.

D avid Herrera, owner of Dario’s American Cuisine, spent 15 years working in a fine dining restaurant

in the Galleria area. In 2006, he opened Alicia’s, an authentic Mexican food restau-rant off Hwy. 290 in Cypress, and, in May 2009, Herrera opened Dario’s to bring his knowledge of fine dining to the area.

Dario’s, named after Herrera’s young-est son, specializes in prime selections of meats and fish, such as steak, tuna, salmon, red snapper and chicken. It also caters to wine connoisseurs with a wide selection of white and red wines and champagne.

“I want our customers to know they don’t have to travel downtown to get the service and quality they can get right here,” Herrera said. “I think sometimes people walk in and see the tablecloths and the wines and immediately think it is too pricey, but we’re not. If Dario’s was a res-taurant inside the Loop, it’d be much more

expensive.”The hands of trained professionals,

including an executive chef, two sous-chefs and a pastry chef, prepare the elegant food served at Dario’s, which adds to the fine-dining experience.

Executive chef Alex Carpinteyro was trained at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Switzerland and has many years of experience in fine dining.

The atmosphere at Dario’s is something Herrera said was also important to him when he opened the business. He said he wanted customers to feel like they were walking into a nice European establish-ment.

“Here, it is relaxing,” he said. “It helps you get rid of some stress to be able to sit and share a bottle of wine or champagne and enjoy a great meal, and to me, that’s very, very good.”

By Betsy Ellison

Meet the chefWhat are your favorite ingredients to cook with?Onions, shallots, garlic, white wine, salt and pepper. I like them because, with most of the foods, once you add the shallots, the onions or the garlic, it brings all the flavor out on the fishes, meats and even the veggies. The salt and pepper are just to adjust the flavors.

What is your favorite dish to prepare?I like fish and I like beef, but one of my favorites is the Red Snapper Almandine ($26); it is an almond-crusted red snapper with jumbo lump crabmeat and a Bianca sauce.

What is your guilty pleasure dish?I like pork, any type of pork or pork chops. You can play with the flavors, and it is the only animal that you can eat the whole thing, even the skin.

Popular menu items• Filet Mignon—12 o.z. steak, served with

butter-whipped potatoes and asparagus ($32)• Grilled Seasoned Red Snapper—topped with

a citrus and mint white wine reduction sauce, lump crab meat and fresh vegetables ($19)

• Cheesecake—made fresh daily by Dario’s pastry chef ($6.95)

Alicia’s Mexican GrilleHerrera also owns Alicia’s Mexican Grille, which has three locations in the Houston area. Alicia’s is named after Herrera’s wife and offers an authentic Mexican food menu along with a family-friendly environment.

Dario’s American Cuisine14315 Cypress Rosehill RoadCypress • 281-304-1825www.dariosamericanbistro.comOpen Sun.–Fri. 11 a.m.–8 p.m.Sat. (dinner only) 4:30–10 p.m.

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What is the best compliment you’ve received on a dish you’ve prepared?The biggest compliment to me is that people come from so far away—some drive one and a half hours—to have dinner with us here. I think they feel we are on the same level as fine dining restaurants inside the Loop.

Dario’s prepares many flavors of cheesecake, one of the most popular is strawberry.

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PEOPLE

Ed EmmettHarris County JudgeBy Molly Ryan

Although Judge Ed Emmett had dreams of being a professional tennis player through-out his youth, after graduating from Rice University, he soon discovered politics was his true calling in life.

He attended the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and at the age of 28, ran for a Texas State Representative seat. He defeated his opponent, a six-term Democratic incumbent, in part due to knocking on 19,224 doors during his campaign.

Emmett served four terms as a State Representative, and then, President George H. W. Bush appointed him to the Interstate Commerce Commission. When he left his post, Emmett returned to Texas with no intentions of continuing a career in politics, but, in 2007, he was appointed to continue the remaining term of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels. He is now serving his second term in the position.

What do you believe are your most important roles as a county judge?

I am the director of homeland security and emergency management. That’s what I have to do first. Then, helping Commis-sioners Court convey a vision for the future of the county.

What are your priorities for your next term as county judge?

To maintain a balanced budget. Within that, we have to address transportation needs. For the local economy to grow, goods and people need to move efficiently. Also, providing for mental health issues outside of the criminal justice system and

improving the Harris County Hospital District. The conservative thing to do is to spend money in this situation. We must find a way for indigents to have neighbor-hood clinics instead of going to the emer-gency room. Emergency room care is the least efficient and the most expensive form of treatment.

What are the most important issues affecting Northwest Harris County?

Transportation has got to be it. Most of the FM 1960 area was built with the idea that it would be annexed by the city of Houston, but they stopped their annexa-tion program. [The county] is not used to

doing residential curb and gutter street improvements in these areas, but we are going to have to come to grips with the issues in increasingly urban-suburban areas. Also, we are working with TxDOT to make Hwy. 290 happen.

Why is transportation an important issue throughout the county?

Our future is inextricably tied to becom-ing a gateway of North America. One third of overseas trade comes through the Port of Houston. Eventually, those ships are going to come to only one place [in America] and we need that one place to be here. The only way that will happen is if we

have a good transportation system.

What are your plans for dealing with the county budget?

I have said for a year that Harris County is in good financial shape. Having said that, we are out of money. I believe strongly in zero-based budgeting. We need to go line item by line item and decide where we really should be putting our money. There are some programs whose budget needs to be increased and some programs need to be eliminated. I will help Commissioners Court prioritize spending.

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PEOPLE

By Betsy Ellison

Richard “Rick” BerryFormer superintendent’s legacy remains

W hen Richard “Rick” Berry joined the Cy-Fair ISD family in 1992 as superintendent of the fastest

growing school district in the state, he did so as an outsider. Now, almost seven years after his retirement, Berry’s name and legacy still stand strong in the community and the district.

“Cy-Fair was a great experience for me,” Berry said. “It was a great way to end my career and, with that, a big part of my life.”

The start of a careerBerry began his venture in education

during the Vietnam War. He was on the verge of being drafted until he accepted a teaching and coaching position with Ros-coe ISD in 1968 and was offered a deferral.

He and his wife, Sue Ellen, then moved to Arlington, Texas, a fast-growing area between Fort Worth and Dallas, in 1971, where Berry had accepted a job as a coun-selor for Arlington ISD.

Throughout the next 17 years, Berry worked his way through the administra-tion system with AISD, eventually becom-ing the superintendent of the district in 1988.

In 1992, another fast-growing school district, 250 miles southwest of Arlington in the Cypress-Fairbanks area, was on the search for a new superintendent to govern its 44,000-plus-student district.

Berry said he applied for the position after some encouragement from the CFISD hired consultant, met with the school board and was offered the position. After he accepted the job, he moved his family to the growing suburb of Houston after 21 years in north Texas.

“I knew one day, Cy-Fair was going to be one of the largest school districts in the state,” Berry said. “That was exciting for me because I experienced that kind of growth in Arlington, and I think that was one of the reasons Cy-Fair liked me—I knew there

were different ways to approach it.”

Joining the familyImmediately, Berry was thrown into the

system head first, making decisions for the district and working to earn the trust of the faculty, students and the community.

“When I came here, no one knew me,” Berry said. “I felt like it took about a year and a half before I could make a decision or a recommendation without people ques-tioning it. Once we got past that, we really started getting a lot of things done.”

A few years after Berry joined CFISD, the Texas Education Agency introduced the accountability system to public schools for state standardized test results. Berry said he was supportive of the system, but he felt the district should also look into making sure all students are accounted for, not just the ones passing the state’s tests.

“We decided that we needed to do more than the state requirements,” Berry said. “When we did that, it caused the bottom to come up and the top to continue going up. The whole system moved forward, and the district became recognized.”

Under Berry’s leadership, CFISD was the largest school district in the state to hold a recognized accountability rating for six consecutive years from 1999 to 2004.

A part of the familyOver Berry’s 12 years with CFISD he

opened 20 new schools, led successful bond elections and watched as the school district nearly doubled in size, as well as the area around it.

He said some of his favorite memories were during district events when he and other staff members entertained crowds of colleagues and community members with lip-sync performances by Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra and John Travolta.

One thing Berry was a part of that affected fast-growing school districts

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around the state was working to create the Texas Fast Growth Coalition. This group of educators worked with legal consultants to lobby the Texas Legislature for educational funds needed to support the rapid growth of their districts.

“This group still has an impact on the state,” he said. “It was very satisfying to be able to get that started.”

Berry also worked closely with many CFISD staff members, including Pam Wells, current CFISD associate superinten-dent for facilities, planning and commu-nity relations, and Berry’s assistant from 1996 to 1999.

“I learned a great deal from Rick, especially about effective communication

and the art of collaboration,” Wells said. “He believed it was important to engage the community by providing data and developing relationships.”

The Berry CenterWhen he retired in 2004, Berry was

not gone from the district forever. In his last year, he was surprised to find out the school board voted to name the district’s new $80 million complex after him.

“I think that was the first time I was speechless at a board meeting,” he said. “They had put it on the agenda without me knowing, and my secretary had lied to me, well, because the board president asked her to, but I was shocked; it’s hard to describe.”

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The social networkHow social media helped one local business

S oon after the launch of his Internet shoe company, GROOBS.com, in July 2010, local businessman Jason

Fry became aquainted with social media and said he continues to implement it into his daily routine.

“I immediately knew it was a must,” Fry said. “I had never used Facebook or Twitter before, but it’s huge. If I want to get a message out, that’s where I go—Twitter, Facebook, bam.”

GROOBS, or Giving Relief Out Of Buying Shoes, works in two ways: First, customers can purchase a pair of shoes online, and Fry will automatically give a pair away to someone in need. Second, while making the purchase, customers can send 50 percent of the proceeds to a local, Houston-based national charity or nonprofit of their choice.

Through Twitter, a micro-blogging social media website, Fry has been able to introduce GROOBS to organizations such as The Thirst Project, a Los Angeles-based clean water nonprofit. Fry has partnered with the creator of The Thirst Project to make it GROOBS’s featured charity, and on Nov. 21, he traveled with

the organization to help install a clean-water well in Swaziland, Africa—he took GROOBS shoes with him.

More locally, in October, a married couple in Houston purchased 250 pairs of shoes and asked Fry if, along with the automatic give-a-ways, the shoes they pur-chased could be given away as well.

“The cool thing was, they found us through Twitter and Facebook, so [social media] is not only helping me, but it is helping to promote awareness about other organizations in the world,” he said.

Fry said he acts on the concept of think-ing globally while acting locally. He is try-ing to concentrate on Houston charities, but he knows there is need everywhere and using social media helps with that.

On Twitter, Fry said he tries to keep humor and wit in the types of things he posts, but he always embeds a link in the text to direct traffic back to the website.

“One day I had roughly 500 new people go to our website, and I would say that 80 percent of those came from a Facebook or Twitter post, by far. I don’t know how else it would have happened,” he said.

TECHNOLOGY

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health &

2011fitnessGUIDEfitnessGUIDE

Neighborhood places to stay in shape during the new year

Compiled by Betsy Ellison, Christi Love and Molly Ryan

13306 Jones RoadHouston • 281-469-3008www.gnc.com

12412 FM 1960 W.Houston • 832-237-5204www.gnc.com

9575 Jones RoadHouston • 281-955-1455www.gnc.com

18044 FM 529Cypress • 281-345-0994www.gnc.com

5770 Hollister, Ste. EHouston • 713-462-8628www.gnc.com

Natural Li’s Healthy Pantry7710 Cherry Park DriveHouston • 281-858-6175www.lishealthypantry.com

Nature’s Market10924 FM 1960 W.Houston • 281-469-7665www.naturesmarket.cc

Nutrition Depot24150 Hwy. 290, Ste. 200Cypress • 281-758-0350www.mynutritiondepot.com

The Vitamin Shoppe7009 Hwy. 6 N.Houston • 281-463-4193www.vitaminshoppe.com

7504 FM 1960 W.Houston • 281-955-5290www.vitaminshoppe.com

TENNISHuber Tennis Ranch15719 Mueschke RoadCypress • 832-646-7529www.hubertennisranch.com

Kluge Road Tennis Ranch12803 McSwain RoadCypress • 713-384-6968www.klugetennisranch.com

Copperfield Racquet & Health Club15700 Longenbaugh DriveHouston • 281-463-2582www.copperfieldclub.com

GOLFBlackHorse Golf Club12205 Fry RoadCypress • 281-304-1747www.blackhorsegolfclub.com

Cypress Lakes Golf Club18700 Cypresswood DriveCypress • 281-304-8515www.cypresslakesgc.com

Houston National Golf Club16500 Houston National Blvd.Houston • 281-304-1400www.houstonnationalgolf.com

Heron Lakes Golf Course7910 N. Sam Houston Parkway W.Houston • 281-807-4653www.heronlakesgc.com

Jersey Meadow Golf Course8502 Rio GrandeJersey Village • 713-896-0900www.jerseymeadow.com

Longwood Golf Club13300 Longwood TraceCypress • 281-373-4100www.longwoodgc.com

Mulligans Golf11010 Jones RoadHouston • 281-890-6026www.mulligansgolf.com

GYMS & PROGRAMS24 Hour Fitness25632 Hwy. 290Cypress • 281-304-0576www.24hourfitness.com

21602 Hwy. 249Houston • 832-717-0244www.24hourfitness.com

10920 FM 1960 W.Houston • 281-477-8601www.24hourfitness.com

15542 FM 529Houston • 281-550-3066www.24hourfitness.com

7300 West Greens RoadHouston • 281-894-6151www.24hourfitness.com

4oz Fight Club10541 FM 1960Houston • 281-477-7877www.4ozmma.com

Bally Total Fitness13350 Hwy. 290Houston • 713-690-1006www.ballyfitness.com

Costas Gym10850 Jones RoadHouston • 281-890-7378www.costasgym.com

Curves12312 Barker Cypress Road Cypress • 281-304-4900www.curves.com

Cypress Creek Branch YMCA19915 Hwy. 249Houston • 281-469-1481www.ymcahouston.org

Fitness 1912215 Grant RoadCypress • 281-897-0000www.fitness19.com

1711 West Road, Ste. 100Houston • 281-855-0177www.fitness19.com

Fitness 1on115014 Spring Cypress RoadCypress • 281-516-2800www.fitness1on1.com

The Health Club for Women9642 Jones RoadHouston • 281-807-9160www.thehealthclubforwomen.com

Inner Force Fitness11300 West Road, Ste. THouston • 832-237-8496www.innerforcefitness.com

Jazzercise12603 Louetta St.Cypress • 281-855-3488www.jazzercise.com

20155 Cypresswood DriveCypress • 281-855-8895www.jazzercise.com

15544 Ridge Park DriveHouston • 281-855-3488www.jazzercise.com

LA Fitness12304 Barker Cypress RoadCypress • 281-304-6500www.lafitness.com

17800 FM 529Houston • 281-855-3041www.lafitness.com

9244 W. Sam Houston Parkway N.Houston • 281-640-9946www.lafitness.com

Langham Creek Family YMCA16725 Longenbaugh DriveHouston • 281-859-6143www.ymcahouston.org

Life Time Fitness7717 Willowchase Blvd.Houston • 281-469-9300www.lifetimefitness.com

Lone Star Barbell Club16722 Sonoma Del NorteHouston • 713-240-8028www.lonestarbarbell.com

Planet Fitness13140 Louetta RoadHouston • 281-370-0400www.planetfitness.com

ProFit Houston6830 N. Eldridge ParkwayHouston • 713-466-7445www.profithouston.com

Sound Fitness12600 FM 1960Houston • 832-912-6500www.soundfitnessclubs.com

Streamline Fitness15822 Telge RoadCypress • 281-250-4634www.streamlinefit.com

DANCEArthur Murray Studios 9521 Huffmeister Road Houston • 832-593-0090 www.arthurmurraycypresstexas.com

Artisan School of Dance 12603 Louetta Road Cypress • 832-717-3263 www.artisanschoolofdance.com

Ballet Center of Houston8515-A Jackrabbit RoadHouston • 281-859-5514www.balletcenterofhouston.com

Dance Central 15813 Jarvis RoadCypress • 281-304-9282 www.mydancecentral.com

Fred Astaire Dance Studios25250 Hwy. 290, Ste. 280Cypress • 832-475-9142www.dancelessonscypress.com

Hintze Dance Center17333 Spring Cypress Road Cypress • 281-256-1161www.hintzedance.com

Joee Schapiro School of Dance11752 Grant RoadCypress • 281-257-6677www.joeeschapirodance.com

Living Lines Dance Center10990 Ranchstone Drive Houston • 281-955-6867www.livinglinesdance.com

New Vibe Dance Studios12732 Grant RoadCypress • 281-251-0700www.newvibedance.com

Shri Natraj School of Dance10711 Eldoro Canyon LaneHouston • 832-423-2039www.shrinatraj.com

HEALTH FOOD & RETAILAmerican Health Foods21202 Hwy. 249Houston • 281-251-2511www.americanhealthfoodshouston.com

GNC26084 Hwy. 290, Ste. 115Cypress • 281-256-9080www.gnc.com

1658 Willowbrook MallHouston • 281-469-0960www.gnc.com


Universal Fitness & Health10111 Grant RoadHouston • 832-794-1864www.universalfit.com

Velocity Sports Performance10535 Jones RoadHouston • 281-664-6450www.velocitysp.com

GYMNASTICSCypress Academy of Gymnastics11707 Huffmeister RoadHouston • 281-469-4599www.cypressacademy.com

K2 Academy of Kids Sports12603 Louetta Road, Ste. 114Cypress • 281-655-7272www.k2academy.com Thompson TumblersCornerstone United Methodist Church15919 Ridge Park DriveHouston•281-373-5151www.thompsontumblers.com

Thompson TumblersFoundry United Methodist Church8350 Jones Road Houston • 281-373-5151www.thompsontumblers.com

Thompson TumblersGood Shepherd United Methodist Church20155 Cypresswood DriveCypress • 281-373-5151www.thompsontumblers.com

MARTIAL ARTSEternal Martial Arts11202 Steeplecrest DriveHouston • 281-807-0037www.infiniteschool.com

All Star Martial Arts14405 Telge RoadCypress • 281-373-5425 www.allstarma.com

Cypress TaeKwon-Do11688 Barker Cypress Road Cypress • 713-894-6105www.cypresstaekwondo.com

Team Tooke Cypress13203 Fry Road, Ste. 900Cypress • 281-256-3993www.teamtooke-cypress.com Jin’s Tae Kwon Do14555 Skinner Road, Ste. FCypress • 281-256-6300www.cypresstkd.com

Double Dragon Martial Arts14011 Spring Cypress RoadCypress • 281-251-0190www.doubledragon-mac.com

Global TaeKwon Do12603 Louetta RoadCypress • 281-516-1483www.global-taekwondo.com

Young Brothers Tae Kwon Do11732 Grant RoadCypress • 281-370-3400www.ybtkd.org White Tiger Tae Kwon Do9590 Jones RoadHouston • 281-807-1007www.springuma.com

PILATESPilates of Champions13656 Breton Ridge St., Ste. HHouston • 281-890-3777www.pilatesofchampions.com The Pilates Firm15014 Spring Cypress Road Cypress • 281-516-3476www.thepilatesfirm.com

Premier Pilates25282 Hwy. 290, Ste. 170 Cypress • 281-256-0103www.premierpilateshouston.com

Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Houston17415 Bending Post DriveHouston • 281-345-1919www.siddhayogahouston.com

Texas Yoga Center7620 Cherry Park Drive, Ste. F Houston • 281-859-5566www.texasyogacenter.com

REGISTER ONLINE TODAY!www.soccertotshouston.com 832-497-4193

Call for a FREE TRIAL CLASS or to find out about our Spring Session Feb. 28-May 7. Registration Now Open.

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KINDERMUSIK!• Private lessons: Drums, Guitar, Piano, Violin, Voice• Singing Class for ages 8-11

DRAMAKIDS!

Cy-Fair Music & Arts281-855-8855

$10 OFFANY CLASS

One per student.Must present coupon or coupon code at time of registration. New student only. Expires 2/17/11.

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It’s the last week to register to be in the Spring Plays!

New classes start January 31st!

Lessons Available for Ages 4–5, 6–11, 12–17

3 Locations for Kindermusik & Drama Kids Classes: Copperfield and 2 Cypress locations

Kindermusik is for ages Newborn through 6

Community Impact Newspaper has identified health and fitness industries in its distribution area. If your business was omitted, e-mail us at [email protected]

FREE Admission & Skate RentalFREE 30 Minute Group Lesson

FREE 30 Minute Practice SessionDemonstrations by Local Skaters

HALF PRICE Public Session AdmissionLots of Fun Activities

8220 Willow Place Dr. N • 281-84-SKATEFM-1960 at SH-249 (behind Fiesta)

www.AERODROMES.com

BUY 1 Public Skate Admission and Skate Rental, get 1 FREE

Savings of $10! Excluding Jan. 29. Expires 2/17/11

COME CELEBRATE NATIONAL SKATE DAYSaturday, January 29 at 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

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Registration to the event is available ONLINE ONLY atwww.starzofhoustonfsc.org

Limited to ages 6 through 13. Space is limited. First come, first served!Registration Close Date: Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011

Contact: www.starzofhoustonfsc.org for more information.


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Visit our two physicians for your vaccine today.

Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of CommerceLocals create support system for businesses

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one chamber of commerce that supported the northwest

area of Houston, which stretched from Hwy. 290 to I-45, but in 1986, as the area within the Cy-Fair ISD borders began to grow, the business commu-nity decided it was time to form its own support system, and the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce was created.

According to notes from the Cy-Fair Chamber’s 20-year anniversary celebration, Alan Mayberry, who served as the chamber’s first chairman of the board from 1986 to 1988, Tom Meinecke, a local bank president, and David Capps, a local attorney, founded the Cy-Fair chamber in May 1986.

“Cy-Fair was largely a forgotten area by the other chambers that existed at that time,” said Mayberry in a 2006 copy of the Chamber’s newsletter.

He also said that other chambers seemed to cater to larger companies, but the Cy-Fair Chamber had small business-oriented members such as funeral homes, framing shops and

florists.Jan Weatherton, owner and

president of Weatherton and Cole Insurance, said the formation of the chamber was necessary because its members knew how important it was for businesses in the area to build relationships with each other.

“When the Cy-Fair Chamber was forming, we all kind of banded together out here because we knew we were sort of isolated. We were trying to help everyone work together,” she said.

By Aug. 20, 1986, the chamber had more than 130 charter members, and it continued to grow, reaching almost 600 members in four years.

While focusing on building rela-tionships between the community, the school district and businesses, the chamber also helped to incorporate some important features into the area. Over the years, it worked to create a local television station for Cy-Fair ISD, developed two golf tournaments and helped create a community col-lege campus.

HISTORY

By Betsy Ellison

The first copy of the Cy-Fair Chamber’s Newsletter, The Reporter, was published in June 1986.

Local busi-nesses gather at one of the first general membership luncheons in 1986.

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25 years of service

Today, the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce encompasses the 187-square-mile area that follows along the boundaries of Cy-Fair ISD, and it has about 600 members.

On Jan. 27, the chamber will celebrate its 25-year anniversary and the launch of its new branding campaign at its annual Installation Celebration and Business of the Year Awards. During the celebration, incoming board members will be installed and several awards will be handed out.

For more information on the celebration, contact the Chamber at 281-373-1390.

The Chamber’s first set of retiring officers received awards in 1987.

281.890.7676 www.cyfairfcu.org

Did You Know Cy-Fair FCUIs Open To The Public?

JOINTODAY!

Checking AccountsSavings & IRA AccountsInvestment ServicesSignature LoansAuto & RV LoansCredit CardsHome Equity LoansMortgage LoansAnd, much more!

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We O�er A Variety OfFinancial Products & ServicesTo Fit Your Needs:


Impacts

Now OpenTexas Southern University is expanding its borders to Northwest Houston at its new facility at Lone Star College-University Park located at 20515 Hwy. 249, Houston. In partnership with Lone Star College System, Texas Southern University will offer bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Classes at the new campus will begin in January. 281-351-3302, www.lonestar.edu/tomball

Candlelight Cakes, Cafe and Catering, which opened in December, offers daily and weekly lunch specials; catering for events such as birthdays, weddings and graduation parties; and homemade cakes. The family owned and operated business, located at 32015 Hwy. 249, Ste. 117, Pinehurst, uses recipes that have been passed down from generations of co-owner Dayna Rains’ family. Specialties include chicken and dumplings, hamburgers and casseroles. 281-914-7292, www.candlelightcakes.net

Coming SoonBottoms Up Sports Bar, located in Magnolia on 111 Weakley Way, will offer live entertainment, big-screen TVs, drink specials and bar snacks such as nachos and peanuts. The live entertainment will feature a variety of bands, primarily country. The bar will open at the end of January. 281-568-7952

Las Fuentes Mexican Restaurant 18306 FM 1488, Magnolia281-356-9923

6960 FM 1488, Magnolia 281-252-7100

201 Texas 290 Loop East, Brenham 979-836-3910

Magnolia The stucco walls in the main dining room at Las Fuentes Mexican Restaurant & Bar are painted a festive yellow.

During dinner, the staff carries by goblets of frozen margaritas and sizzling skillets of fajitas and quesadillas. All the while, Mexi-can music fills the room.

All is just as owner Rene Benitez wants it. He has had 10 years to hone the type of restau-rant he wants to operate, and he said everything runs smoothly these days.Full story by Bill Murphy at more.impactnews.com/11136

Tomball Wen she was in her 20s, Amy Karels of Magnolia worked out regularly and easily maintained a trim figure suitable for her small frame.

Now in her 40s, much of her time is devoted to working as a business development special-ist at an accounting firm and running a men’s custom clothing firm. She simply stopped working out frequently.

That is until she joined Power Fitness Studio and began to rely less on inner resolve and more on loud, big, muscular personal trainer John Chambliss for moti-vation.

I need somebody to push me,” Karels said.

Chambliss, a personal trainer for six years, opened his personal training center and gym, Power Fitness Studio, in August 2009. Chambliss’ motto is to help cli-ents achieve their goals and enjoy themselves while doing so. Power

Magnolia to look at annexation

Las Fuentes Power Fitness Studio

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Magnolia City of Magnolia leaders are looking to open up the dialogue on annexation through public forums and town hall meetings in 2011. While Magnolia has discussed annex-ing multiple times, in the past it has created immediate nega-tive reactions causing the city to quickly drop the issue, according to Mayor Todd Kana.

“We’ve been talking about it for way too long now and we shy away because it’s such a touchy subject,” Kana said. “We need to start the education and discus-sion process now. We’re not look-ing to force anyone into anything. I think if people see what we

have to propose, they will see the benefits and advantages.”

Magnolia currently has more than 1,200 residents living within city limits. Because the popula-tion is less than 5,000, Magnolia is classified as a general law city. General law cities must operate according to what the state autho-rizes them to do.

The state annexation laws for general law cities require a 51 percent voter approval of the residents the city is proposing to annex or a petition signed by 51 percent of residents stating they want to be annexed. Full story by Emily Roberts at more.impactnews.com/11145

Fitness Studio is not a specialty gym, catering only to body build-ers for example. Clients include people trying to lose weight, remain toned, bulk up and keep fit as they age.Full story by Bill Murphy at more.impactnews.com/11138

Top story

Dining

REGIONAL —Abridged stories from our Tomball/Magnolia edition

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Power Fitness Studio101 Alma St., Ste. 100Tomball • 832-422-2556www.powerfitnessstudio.net

N. Baylor St.

N. Market St.

290

36

105

Brenham

2978

1488

249

149

State Spur 149

Magnolia

True Customer SatisfactionPress Ganey, a recognized leader in data and quality performance, has ranked TRMC in the top quarter among emergency departments in the nati on for pati ent sati sfacti on. Even if your emergency seems like a minor emergency, it is always wise to trust a hospital-based emergency room.

605 Holderrieth Blvd, Tomball, TX 77375 • www.tomballhospital.org • 281.401.7777

Cherry S

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©2011. An independently owned and operated member of The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. Prudential is a registered trademark of The Prudential Insurance Company of America. If your property is currently listed by another broker, please disregard this offer. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We cooperate with them fully. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Cy Fair Office v 832.334.0001 v www.CyFair.GaryGreene.com11734 Barker Cypress, Suite 116 | Cypress TX 77433

Susan Brennan Debby Brown Jenna Devers Margaret Gardner Shelly Greer Margo Horton

Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors® Welcomes

OUR NEWEST MEMBERS TO THE CY-FAIR TEAM!

Lynda Hughes

Margie Johnson Gary McSwain Linda Sprecher Robin Suter Frances Viktorin Lynne Willbar

Buying, selling or relocating . . . please remember us!


290

Fry Rd

.

Cyp

ress

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Spring

Cypress Rd.

Ski

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Jarvis Rd.

REAL ESTATE

BlackHorse RanchCypress – 77433

Build-out year: 2009 Number of homes: 654 Square footage: 1,834–11,146 Home values: $95,302–$2,089,688 HOA dues (estimated): $830 per year Amenities: Blackhorse Ranch golf course, parks, clubhouse, playgrounds, swimming pool Nearby attractions: Houston Premium Outlet Mall, Tin Hall, Berry Center Property taxes: Cypress Fairbanks ISD 1.43000 Emergency Service District 0.06000 HC MUD 371 0.91000 Harris County 0.38805 Harris County Education Dept. .006581 Harris County Flood Control 0.02923 Harris County Hospital District 0.19216 Lone Star College System 0.11760 Port of Houston Authority 0.02054 Total (per $100 value) 3.154161

Cy-Fair ISD Schools: Warner Elementary School 19545 Cypress N. Houston Road Cypress, TX 77433 281-213-1650

Smith Middle School 19325 Cypress N. Houston Road Cypress, TX 77433 281-213-1010

Cypress Ranch High School 10700 Fry Road Cypress,TX 77433 281-373-2300

12910 Mason Terrace $247,6354 Bedroom / 2 Bath 2,230 Sq.Ft.Agent: Joe Rothchild, Keller Williams Signature281-599-6500

26302 Fieldhaven Court $350,0004 Bedroom / 3.5 Bath 4,048 Sq.Ft.Agent: Jenna D’Amico, Prudential Gary Greene Champions, 832-381-4121

26318 Wedgewood Park $384,0005–6 Bedroom / 3.5 Bath 5,395 Sq.Ft.Agent: Connie Shugart, Century 21 Cornerstone, 832-474-8170

26914 Riverbend Point Lane $245,0004–5 Bedroom / 3.5 Bath 3,132 Sq.Ft.Agent: Mark Dimas, The Professional Group 281-861-6199

Data compiled by Mark Dimas

The Professional Group Realty281-861-6199 | www.markdimas.com

No. of homes for sale

No. of homes under contract

Avg. days on the market

18 2 76

No. of homes sold in the last year

Square footageLow/High

Selling priceLow/High

53 2,3084/5,400 $150,000/$660,000

On the market (As of Jan. 13, 2011)

Featured homesOverview

Home sales (Jan. 1, 2010–Dec. 31, 2010)

Market Data Northwest Houston

Price Range

Number of homes for sale/Average days on the market

77040 77064 77065 77070 77095 77429 77433

Less than $149,999 97/117 111/111 72/129 96/107 154/98 133/107 176/119

$150,000–$199,999 31/109 33/102 23/161 60/121 126/110 116/123 119/112

$200,000–$299,999 26/126 16/119 23/128 23/112 56/135 113/132 148/115

$300,000–$399,999 5/111 2/78 6/96 4/198 14/124 46/176 74/151

$400,000–$499,999 1/195 – 2/354 3/165 6/117 27/122 38/119

$500,000–$599,999 – – – 1/362 1/265 5/219 13/179

$600,000–$799,999 2/100 – – 4/125 – 19/216 5/147

$800,000–$999,999 – – – 1/771 – 6/242 4/144

$1 million + – – 1/257 3/275 – 5/163 3/84

Month

Number of homes sold/Average Price

77040 77064 77065 77070 77095 77429 77433

Dec. 2010 27/$160,078 23/$133,187 21/$144,245 32/$157,150 63/$150,553 85/$203,778 90/$235,343

Dec. 2009 31/$129,728 38/$129,573 27/$146,504 27/$146,738 58/$164,702 93/$211,744 101/$233,879

Nov. 2010 22/$134,046 24/$139,518 16/$129,108 32/$183,100 41/$187,666 65/$188,266 66/$199,773

Oct. 2010 26/$123,966 23/$132,966 21/$108,828 33/$165,511 64/$170,106 68/$206,320 67/$208,830

Sept. 2010 19/$108,907 30/$126,915 23/$116,367 32/$142,863 47/$175,408 49/$219,138 75/$242,178

Aug. 2010 18/$144,789 31/$154,992 15/$112,083 32/$154,240 69/$181,244 68/$232,864 83/$216,605

July 2010 19/$112,009 33/$128,982 11/$146,990 31/$152,158 63/$170,396 90/$222,399 96/$216,709

June 2010 32/$138,686 32/$125,080 24/$137,781 48/$145,788 72/$170,355 106/$232,570 111/$243,276

May 2010 33/$144,167 36/$122,657 26/$132,128 50/$149,621 82/$171,968 131/$200,508 114/$187,841

On the market (Dec. 1–31) Monthly home sales

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A Professional Tree Care CompanyJones Road Tree Service LLC excels in arboriculture and we treat our clients and their trees with integrity, care and dignity. We provide professional tree services for residential, commercial and municipal needs.

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12344 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress www.paintingwithatwist.com/[email protected] • 281.256.8383

Looking for a fun evening out with friends while creating your own masterpiece? We have the answer! Bring your favorite bottle of wine or beverage, and paint a picture along with a local artist. We’ll show you step by step how to paint a beautiful work of art that you will take home at the end of the evening. We have the answer! Grab a friend or come alone!

A little bit of paint,

a little bit of wine &

a whole lot of FUN!Check us out on Facebook and become a fan!

• Birthdays • Offi ce Party/Team Building• Girls Night Out • Book Club • Bunco Group • Red Hat’s • Couple’s Night

BOOK A PRIVATE PARTY! Choose your own painting & have the place to yourself!

2 Hour Class: $353 Hour Class: $45

PRIVATE EVENTS AVAILABLE!

KIDS KAMP...with a twist!

Saturday, Feb. 510 AM-Noon • $35

“Princess Crown”

Reserve your seat online via paintingwithatwist.com/cypress or give us a call!

It’s fun and easy! No prior dancing ability is needed! It’s a great couple activity!

It’s an aerobic, weight-bearing, calorie-burning activity!

Interested in Learning Different Dances?

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25250 NW Freeway, Ste. 280, Cypress | 832.475.9142

Tues.–Sat. 12:30–9 p.m.•Sat.11 a.m.–8 p.m.

www.dancelessonscypress.com

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FIRST LESSON

18052 FM 529 RD, CYPRESS 77433 | 281-855-7899

Offering more than 800 different kinds of natural herbs & ginseng products, Lieng is also a retired doctor of Chinese medicine and will diagnose and refer patients free of charge.

Lieng, Ky Souk, Doctor of Chinese Medicine28 YEARS IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA

TEN YEOU GINSENG & HERBS

• Specialty internal and external body needs• Heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, prostate, and colon • Hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, memory • Headaches, back pain, thyroid, skin infections• Weight loss • Teas • Gifts

WE OFFER: Detox tea and/or pills • Arthritis pills • Hemorrhoid pills Pills for energy (men or women) • Allergy capsules Ginseng liquid pills or capsules • Asthma pills Digestion aids • Sleeping pills… and MUCH more!

GINSENG • DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS FROM CONCENTRATE

10% OFF

FREE GIFT

SENIOR DISCOUNT

WITH PURCHASE

Ages 65 and up. With this ad. Expires 2/17/11.

With this ad. Expires 2/17/11.

BARKER CYPRESS

LONG

ENBA

UGH

FM 5

29

HWY

290

www.tenyeouginsengherbs.webs.com

Located in the Langham Creek Shopping Center

Income Tax ServicesAccurate. Accredited. Affordable.

23% OFF Bring in your invoice

from H&R Block, Liberty or Jackson Hewitt

and beat their price by at least 23%.

Keep more of your hard earned money!

Walk-ins and Appointments Anyday/Anytime!

4come Tncome T

Accurate. Accre

Walk-ins and Anyday/A

$37 OFFThe preparation of your 1040 income

tax returnExpires 2/17/11

[email protected] relax4tax.com

832.232.3914

Home-Life-AutoAgent: Sylvia Alaniz

281•758•3444 [email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/salaniz

FREE GIFT

WITH QUOTE

IN OFFICE

Expires 2/18/11

11700 Barker Cypress, Suite D, Cypress 77433 Next to Chevron, 1/2 mile South of 290

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Northwest Houston edition | Volume 2, Issue 5 | Jan. 21 ......Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Fairfield and...

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Transcript of Northwest Houston edition | Volume 2, Issue 5 | Jan. 21 ......Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Fairfield and...