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Posted
1 hour ago, Hard Times said:

If I heard screams like this it would send chills up my spine.

East Harris County neighbor's doorbell camera captures what he thought was child abduction

This could have been @Jade if she'd have gotten on the bus to LA

Quote

She told the deputies that she was driven to Houston from New York, and she planned to work here as a masseuse. Instead, she said she was dropped off at a house where they took her passport and identification and wouldn't let her leave.

 

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Posted
12 minutes ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:

Loser leaves four kids in car while visiting porn shop

 

This is some shit future man would do

That is a real reason to get ragey. 
That “dad” needs to be locked in a non running car with the windows sealed shut all afternoon in Phoenix. 
And have an audience outside sitting in mister-cooled shade watching him bake to death while they drink frozen margaritas.

Posted

I've been traveling to Houston a lot this year for work. 2 or 3 times a month I'm in Houston. I'm also regularly in places in like New York City and San Francisco. I haven't been to Austin regularly for at least a year and a half-- I was downtown at the Omni for two days in the spring. 

I give that context before I say:

It feels like this year Houston is giving those places a run for it's money in what you traditionally think of as unchecked mental illness, drug use/abuse, and harrassment from those experiencing homelessness.

I've seen more barefoot, screaming into the void mental illness and homeless people veering and intimidating the white collar population than I've seen in SF recently. Louisiana, Texas, Main, Fannin, Rusk, you name it, it's on every corner. From the JW Marriott to Vinson & Elkins to Shell Plaza it's crazy.

And I've seen more downtown police and enforcement patrols just ignore it and look the other way (and to be fair, most finance and o&g workers downtown seem to be used to it) as they focus on ticketing parked cars.

tl;dr Houston is rivaling San Fran in 2025 in smelling like urine.

Posted
1 minute ago, Vegas64 said:

And I've seen more downtown police and enforcement patrols just ignore it and look the other way (and to be fair, most finance and o&g workers downtown seem to be used to it) as they focus on ticketing parked cars.

Dealing with homeless disphits is a money losing proposition for the city. Fucking with tax paying citizens is a money making proposition.

Pretty simple choice.

Posted
Just now, crash_davis said:

Dealing with homeless disphits is a money losing proposition for the city. Fucking with tax paying citizens is a money making proposition.

Pretty simple choice.

I mean, they arent that as you describe. They are CLEARLY suffering from mental illness and/or addiction. And in very bad straits. And acting out and harrassing the general downtown area of commerce and business.

Posted
19 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Dealing with homeless disphits is a money losing proposition for the city. Fucking with tax paying citizens is a money making proposition.

Pretty simple choice.

You can also add in:

California is trying to solve their homeless problem, or at least lessen it. 

Texas doesn't give a flying fuck about trying to solve anything, except to criminalize it.  And their mayor is a Republican in sheep's clothing. 

Go look at Denver for what a successful campaign to try and solve the issue looks like. 

Posted

Ehh, my empathy and sympathy for the homeless died a long ass time ago. They are at best a nuisance. At worst, they terrorize tax paying citizens and hold cities and communities hostages to their bullshit.

But agreed, homelessness is not a city problem. It's a national and states problem. Until both get their shit together to implement a strategy, the homeless will continue to do their bullshit.

Posted
You can also add in:
California is trying to solve their homeless problem, or at least lessen it. 
Texas doesn't give a flying fuck about trying to solve anything, except to criminalize it.  And their mayor is a Republican in sheep's clothing. 
Go look at Denver for what a successful campaign to try and solve the issue looks like. 

Denver “solving the issue” was putting a shit ton of them on a bus to Colorado Springs; at least according to the locals I deal with in both cities.
Posted

Any city "solving" homelessness means either getting tough with the homeless and passing/enforcing laws which drive/ship homeless away or signing up their tax paying citizens to pony up hundreds of millions every few years to pay for "housing". The problem is how fucking long are tax payers on the hook pay for any dipshit who shows up at the city limits looking for a free place to live. The answer seems to be, for forever.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Vegas64 said:

I mean, they arent that as you describe. They are CLEARLY suffering from mental illness and/or addiction. And in very bad straits. And acting out and harrassing the general downtown area of commerce and business.

IMG_5048.gif.d234faf444b2c0814d01cdcdfb7fe739.gif

Edited by Gatorubet
Posted
2 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

And I've seen more downtown police and enforcement patrols just ignore it and look the other way (and to be fair, most finance and o&g workers downtown seem to be used to it) as they focus on ticketing parked cars.

You should talk to Whitmire about it so he can remove a few bike lanes in response

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Gatorubet said:

IMG_5048.gif.d234faf444b2c0814d01cdcdfb7fe739.gif

Is it my opinion? I mean, how else do you describe the guy walking around barefoot with no shirt and a ratty blanket wrapped around his body screaming at imagined spectres about the God knows what? There is one on every corner.

Houston could have a really cool downtown. It's inherently walkable from one end to another, I do it often. But it's increasingly concerning and scary. There will be a violent occurance sooner rather than later it seems, not if but when.

Edited by Vegas64
Posted
1 hour ago, Vegas64 said:

Is it my opinion? I mean, how else do you describe the guy walking around barefoot with no shirt and a ratty blanket wrapped around his body screaming at imagined spectres about the God knows what? There is one on every corner.

Houston could have a really cool downtown. It's inherently walkable from one end to another, I do it often. But it's increasingly concerning and scary. There will be a violent occurance sooner rather than later it seems, not if but when.

I hate to say this because I used to say the same exact thing when I lived in Houston. Houston will never have a downtown that is alive. If I think about Houston versus Austin, the roadblocks are a lack of real residential living, limited street level restaurants and bars, more humidity than Austin,the lack of something as simple as the Town Lake Trail to keep people coming and hanging out downtown, fewer young people, etc. Not to mention that Houston has a massive tunnel system and so people would rather stay underground than walk from building the building outside. It just feels like it has too much stacked against it. There's a couple of spots here and there but man, it's not going to happen.  Even if you had a great trail system off of the bayou, it would basically take you out of downtown. The draw isn't there and I don't see how you can manufacture it. 

Posted (edited)

The downtown population is growing and there are upcoming developments. No, it's never going to be Austin, but it upcoming. Downtown Houston seems to go in phases every 10 years or so.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/downtown-houston-population-growth-20345899.php

 

Houston also isn't just siting back and doing nothing about the homeless situation with an upcoming housing-first model. The mayor plans to become the first major U.S. city to end street homelessness by the end of 2026 (although I doubt that will happen). Most will just get moved from location to another.
https://communityimpact.com/houston/bellaire-meyerland-west-university/government/2025/03/12/houstons-70m-plan-to-end-street-homelessness-by-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Progress Made Homelessness has dropped sharply—roughly 60% since 2011. Model has housed thousands effectively.
Current Gap As of mid‑2025: ~3,200 people still experience nightly homelessness; funding remains short; housing availability is tight.
Ongoing Challenges Ensuring sustainable funding, expanding mental health services, avoiding criminalization, and expanding low-barrier options.
Future Goal End street homelessness by end of 2026, provided the plan is fully funded and implemented effectively.
Edited by mycox
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