2008 Houston Auto Show photos

The 2008 Houston Auto Show is going on and I took some pictures. I focused on the Texas Debuts and concept cars. Enjoy!

CLICK FOR 2008 Houston Auto Show photos

 

Gucci and Prada on the cheap in Houston

Gucci and Prada on the cheap.

More Than You Can Imagine
2817 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77098
Phone: (713) 668-8811
www.morethanyoucanimagine.com

For Consignors:

• Must make an appointment
• Split between you and the shop is 50-50
• Items must be in "like new" condition
• Items must be in style
• The shop owner determines the price

Twice New
2005-D West Gray
Houston, TX 77019
Phone: (713) 523-2212
www.twicenew.com

For Consignors:
• Split between you and the shop is 40-60
• Items must be dry cleaned or laundered on a hanger
• Items consigned for 90 days then items are donated to charity

Comcast's statement on Missouri City

From signal problems to rate hikes, some Missouri City residents are upset about their cable company and they took those complaints all the way to city hall. 

Comcast took over from Time Warner earlier this year and some in Missouri City say the transition has not been a smooth one.

READ FULL STORY

Here is the press statement from Comcast Houston:

November 19, 2007

We value our relationship with Missouri City and fully intend to address the issues they raised last week in an effort to deliver the best possible experience to our customers.

We’re working every day to better serve our customers.  In Houston, we’ve continued our practice of in-sourcing our customer service by hiring more than 200 local call center representatives and field technicians, increased appointment availability to seven days a week and invested in new customer care technologies that allow us to proactively monitor network performance so that we can resolve issues before they impact the customer.  In 2008, we anticipate continued job growth, and will look to hire an additional 200 employees in Houston to serve our local customers.

Since entering the Houston market, we’ve added more than 30 new networks, including 14 High-Definition channels, boosted our Internet speeds and introduced PowerBoost Speed Enhancer, a patent pending technology that gives our commercial customers extra bursts of speed when downloading or uploading large files.  We also recently began the roll out of our signature ON DEMAND service, delivering our digital cable customers an ever-growing library of up to 9,300 programs a month, including 150 hours of HD content along with movies, news, sports and children’s programs, network shows and other choices, to watch whenever they want with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind selections.  The majority of ON DEMAND content is available at no additional cost to digital cable customers.

Price adjustments reflect the increased value of our services, and a $200 million local investment to improve network reliability, launch new products and services and enhance the customer experience.

If your car is booted in Houston

There are a lot of chances for your car to be towed in Houston, now it looks like that chance is also going up for being booted.  You know, that's when you get that yellow device attached to your car's tire that would keep you from driving away. (READ FULL STORY)

Here is what you need to know if you get booted:

- What is a boot?
- How does a vehicle get "booted"?
- What are the boot fees?
- I received a notice that my vehicle is "boot-eligible." What do I do?
- My car was booted. What do I do now?
- What is a boot hearing?

In case you get towed too:
My car was towed – is there anything I can do?

Cameras not welcome during some Houston restaurant inspections

East side restaurant kitchens were on the checklist of city health inspectors, and Action 13 followed along.

The Panaderia Atotonilco at 973 Federal Road is the first stop for Health Inspector Ramonda Robinson. But managers did not want us in the kitchen.

"No, because, no," they said.

The inspection continued without us.   When it was over, Robinson had three pieces of advice for owners -- clean, clean, clean.

Inspector Robinson said, "They have a lot of cleaning that they need to do, dirty floors, dirty shelves."

While no citations were issued, Inspector Robinson says she'll have to come back in two weeks to make sure things have improved.

Next, there's good news for a mobile taco stand. Inspector Robinson lifted a closure order issued the day before. The food was fine. Instead, the problem here was with the plumbing.

Inspector Robinson said, "The water was back-flowing into the two compartment sink, so they were not able to properly wash or sanitize, and I had to close them for that."

With the problem resolved, the taco stand could again serve the public.

The next stop is the Flamingo Supermarket on Canal Street.  Here, too, managers did not want us inside. Inspector Robinson found problems within the meat market.

She explained, "They had quite a few violations. They had flies, cross-contamination with meat in the meat department -- raw chicken and beef that were touching, so that had to be discarded."

The meat slicer and cutting board needs to be cleaned and holes in the wall need to be fixed. No citations were issued, but inspectors will be back in two weeks to make sure problems have been resolved.

The city health department inspects dozens of restaurants each week and we are showing you just a fraction of those they visit. But if you'd like to see those reports, you can look them up in the city of Houston's online database.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Top Mexican food restaurants in Houston

Here we go again. It's my shift to web produce on the weekend so I work with Joe Williams to come up with the best in Houston restaurants.  This month we tackle the top Houston Mexican food restaurants.

That is no easy task as you might imagine.

See if you agree or you can tell us how wrong we are.

LEAVE YOUR READER REVIEWS BELOW

More Hannah Montana tickets go on sale in Houston

We've been covering the Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus ticket saga for a while now on this blog and have some good news for fans.  More tickets are on sale in Houston says the Toyota Center.

Like we've preached here before, going to the concert venue's web site right before the show can land you some choice seats as the band and promoters offer their unused tickets for sale:

The production for the tour has been finalized and a limited number of tickets will be released for sale on Saturday, November 3 at 1pm at www.toyotacentertix.com and charge by phone at 1-866-4-HOUTIX.

The procedure to purchase tickets is as follows:

• Tickets are only available online and by phone. Tickets are NOT available at the Box Office or at the outlets.    
• All tickets will not be available for pick up until the day of the show at the Box Office Will Call window. You MUST have the credit card you purchased the tickets with and a photo ID. Box Office Will Call will be open beginning at 10am.    
• There is a 4-ticket limit per person.

Toyota Center is proud to welcome 14-year-old singer, songwriter and actress, Miley Cyrus, of the hit Emmy-nominated Disney Channel series, “Hannah Montana,” to Houston on Sunday, November 11. This “Best of Both Worlds” concert tour will be a double billing where Miley Cyrus performs both as a solo artist and as her popular TV character, Hannah Montana. Don’t miss Miley Cyrus and her special guests, Jonas Brothers, as they stop in Houston this fall!

Did health inspectors find roaches at your favorite Houston restaurant?

Health inspectors are working to keep you healthy as they look behind the counter in Houston restaurant kitchens.   

Health Inspector Gary Lee's first stop was the Grand Lux Cafe across from the Galleria. Restaurant managers would not let us in, however Inspector Lee says the kitchen only had one minor problem with a pre-scrape sink.

"There is a sink they scrape all the food debris off of and it was missing a cold water knob, but it still has hot water available,” Lee said.

   The Grand Lux called a plumber and passed its inspection.

Up next was the El Pupusodromo Restaurant on Renwick.  Here too, managers did not want us to look behind the counter.  Inspector Lee says he found an insect problem.

"Unfortunately they did have a roach that was crawling on some dinnerware, but they did have pest control service last night and whenever that happens it flushes them out,” Lee told us.   “So we had them clean all the dinnerware, wash it with sanitizer before they can use it."

   Because El Pupusodromo has routine pest control, no citations were issued. Inspector Lee also found slime in the restaurant's ice machine, he ordered it cleaned but issued no citations.

   Next Inspector Lee visited the Dos Amigos food store on Chimney Rock, here we were allowed inside.

The store has a small kitchen. Behind the counter we saw roaches on the floor.   Inspector Lee noticed them too.

"We did come across a roach that was crawling across the wall, I talked to the owner and they did call pest control and in looking at their documentation they were serviced on October 4th,” Lee said.

   Because the store has routine extermination and corrective actions are being taken, no citations were issued.   Inspector lee also found a problem with some of the canned food on the store shelves.

"We did come across what's called Austex Chili hot dog sauce, hot dog chili that was on the recall list earlier this summer so they pulled it off the shelf,” Inspector Lee said.

   Because the store removed the three cans of recalled food, no citations were issued. 

It was a clean slate for all three stops on this day.    

To see how your favorite restaurant faired on its last health inspection, click here.    

Ever wonder how Jeff Ehling compiles the Rat and Roach Report?  Read more in our Q&A.

Which Houston restaurants fell under the gaze of our Rat and Roach Report?

Health inspectors were back inside restaurant kitchens this week, making sure they are clean.   

Ruchi's on Beechnut is the first stop for inspector Abeid Fells.    Inside the kitchen, Fells checked the chilled condiments and the temperature of meat.  The only cause of concern was the dumpster.  The doors must be kept closed and the boxes need to be picked up to keep flies away, but everything else here looks good, no violations.

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Story continues below
Read the Rat and Roach Q&A with Jeff Ehling.

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"That establishment was pretty clean, they only had a few minor violations nothing major," Inspector Fells told us.

   Next up, Fu Fu Cafe at Bellaire and the West Belt.  Restaurant owners did not want us to follow the health inspector inside the kitchen.  Inspector Fells says he did find some things that needed work.

"I saw two roaches on the inside,” he told us.

   Inspector Fells did not issue a citation for roaches because the restaurant owners are taking steps to control the problem.

"He says he has had pest control to come out, he does not have the receipts in the establishment right now,” Fells said.  “So what I am going to do is come back and check on that."

   Up next, Cafe 101 in the 9800 block of Bellaire.  In the kitchen, Inspector Fells found a common problem, a hand sink that is not working quite right.

“This is like the main hand sink in the kitchen, you have to have some hot water here,” he said.

   That means cooks have to use a sink across the kitchen to wash their hands properly.    Not using hot water to wash hands in the kitchen could lead to contamination of food and make people sick.

"Since they have another hand washing sink that has hot water, it was not necessary to issue a citation, but the hand washing sink that does not have hot water needs to be replaced as soon as possible,” Inspector Fells said.

   Employees tell us a plumber is on the way.

To see how your favorite restaurant faired on its last health inspection, click here.    

Ever wonder how Jeff Ehling compiles the Rat and Roach Report?  Read more in our Q&A.

Rat and Roach Report Q&A with Jeff Ehling

I managed to catch up with the very busy Jeff Ehling the other day to ask a few common questions we get about the Houston Rat and Report.

Mike McGuff:  Can you shut down restaurants?
Jeff Ehling:  No, I don’t have that power.  Health inspectors however can shut down restaurants.  In fact we have seen several places closed down for various reasons.  Hot water was not 110 degrees, floor drains were backed up, not having proper permits…all things that have led to closures.

MM:  How do you choose a restaurant to inspect?
JE:  We don’t choose the places, the health inspector does.  In fact we have no idea where they will take us until the day before and even then we only know the first place on the list.

MM:  What's the worst thing you've found so far?
JE:  Roaches, roaches and more roaches.  We went along with one inspector who saw roaches all over the kitchen of a restaurant. 

MM:  When you go to eat a restaurant, does the staff now look at you funny?
JE:  Great question.  I have noticed restaurant owners give me a second look when I go to eat.  The other day I stopped by a place I go to occasionally and the owner asked if I was doing the Rat and Roach report and I said yes.  He then basically ran off.  I think he meant if I was doing the report on his place right then, but I was only just eating there.  The owner of another restaurant owner said I was making people look bad, but then co-owner piped in and said, "no, it's not his fault a place has roaches."

If you have a question, leave it in the comments below.

You can go along with Jeff on the inspections every Thursday night on Eyewitness News at 6pm.

Working from home or getting a part time job

Today on Live at 5, you saw a story about all of the holiday jobs opening up in Houston. Here is some more information from that:

Women for Hire Career Expo
Thursday Oct. 25
10-2
Westin Galleria
5060 W. Alabama

While we're at it, here are links we've prepared to help you work from your home:

Working   from home - virtual assistant
  Working   from home - online tutor
  Working   from home - telemarketing
  Working   from home - medical transcriptionist
  Working   from home - verifying sales calls
  Working   from home - culinary consultant
  Working   from home - as a concierge
  Working   from home - if a nurse
  Working   from home - mystery shopping
  Working   from home - talking tech
  Working   from home - transcribing
  Working   from home if disabled
  Working   from home - online juror
  Working at home   full coverage

Texas AG takes legal action against Houston foreclosure rescue firm

by Jeff Ehling

The Texas Attorney General's Office says it is cracking down on companies that offer foreclosure help but do little actual work.

   Today the AG office issued a restraining order against a Houston based mortgage rescue company.

   The AG says Southern Residential, LLC fraudulently advertised the company could save homeowners from imminent foreclosure.  Under the temporary restraining order, the defendants must stop falsely soliciting distressed homeowners immediately.

   Employees we spoke with denied the allegations included in the AG's report.

    Homeowners who believe they have been harmed by this or similar fraudulent businesses may call the Office of the Texas Attorney General's Office toll-free complaint line at (800) 252-8011 or file a complaint online at www.oag.state.tx.us.

Answer for cell phone signal problem

Sherry wrote the Consumer Blog about her cell phone reception problem:

I have a question about cell phone companies not being able to provide service?? AT&T in Alvin is horrible! We have been having dropped calls for 2 weeks. We call and they say it is a tower problem! Was even told it would be fixed in hour last week. NOT!!! Any suggestions to get some help? 

We went straight to AT&T and got an answer from spokesperson Dan Feldstein:

An intermittent problem with fiber optic equipment leading to one cell tower in Alvin was repaired this morning and will be closely monitored for the next 48 hours. AT&T sincerely apologizes to customers who may have experienced some difficulty with their wireless phone service in the Alvin area.

Have a problem.  Email us.

Harris Co. commisioners court pass property tax cut

Here is what KTRK is reporting about the Harris County property tax decrease:

Harris county commissioners met this morning and decided they'll cut the property tax rate by a penny.

There have been only two tax cuts in Harris County over the last 20 years. Some see this proposal as simply a relief to taxpayers. Others see it as political posturing before an upcoming election.

With the tax cut, the average homeowner will save $12 per year, going from $754 to $742.

But County Judge Ed Emmett says it would also mean no interruption to county services or affect any county facilities. Emmett says appraised property values have skyrocketed over the past few years.

Fellow Commissioner El Franco Lee says the judge is pushing for the cut to maintain the position he was awarded after the departure of Robert Eckles earlier this year. But as County Tax Collector Paul Bettencourt says, "Any property tax relief is good."

Seniors and disabled people don't have to pay property taxes if they live in property worth $200,000.

Comcast.... WHERE IS MY PHONE NUMBER?

Ray of Houston wrote The Consumer Blog with this problem concerning his Comcast cable phone service:

TWICE now, Comcast has lost our 10+ year phone number, BOTH times without notice and with a lack of customer concern.

For the last 7 days, we can make calls FROM home but not TO home. Callers are greeted with "Were sorry, that number has been disconnected" TOTALLY HUMILIATING.  Effecting our home business and recent invitations to 2 large events each have this number listed for RSVP's. 

My wife and I have spent hours and hours on hold with Comcast.

All we've learned is Comcast still "owns" our outgoing line but some other carrier gained possession of our incoming line.  How? No-one knows! What the heck is that all about?  We pay a large amount (and growing) for all bundled services (phone, cable, internet, security).  We feel like this large corporation has us over a barrel with nowhere to turn.  There is no way to penetrate the phone screening to speak to a real decision maker. 

PLEASE HELP!

We received the message and put an SOS out to Comcast.  Here is what Comcast VP Ray Purser told us:

Mike, the customer has been taken care of.  The phone number was retrieved back from his old provider and has been placed under his Comcast account.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention. 

Have a problem you need solved? Contact us.

Changes to Comcast channel lineup

We have received questions from many of you concerning changes to Comcast's lineup.  The changes go in effect Tuesday October 23rd with new HD channels.

Here is what the company sent us today:

 

• National Geographic HD (Channel 283)
• USA HD (Channel 284)
• A&E HD (Channel 285)
• History Channel HD (Channel 286)
• HGTV HD (Channel 287)
• Food Network HD (Channel 288)
• CNN HD (Channel 299)

The seven new HD channels follow the simultaneous launches earlier this month of TBS HD and NFL Network HD and five other HD networks in June.

[snip]

With today’s announcement, Comcast continues its industry-leading pace of HD expansion, providing the most HD viewing choices and setting the standard for true HD quality.  Including the new additions, Comcast will offer 30 HD channels, such as CBS, ABC, NBC, CW, FOX, PBS, National Geographic, USA, A&E, History Channel, HGTV, Food Network, ESPN, ESPN2, VERSUS/ The Golf Channel, TNT, MHD: Music High-Definition, Universal, MOJO, CNN, HD Theater, FSN, TBS, Cinemax, HBO, Showtime, Starz, HDNet, HDNet Movies and NFL Network.

[snip]

Comcast said it has also enhanced its Spanish-language lineup by launching nine new channels tomorrow to the popular Canales Selecto package.  The new networks include Cine Mexicano (Channel 500), Once TV - Mexico (Channel 501), TeleFormula (Channel 502), Latele Novela (Channel 505), Canal 52MX (Channel 507), SUR Mexico (Channel 508), AYM Sports (Channel 514), History en Espanol (Channel 516) and Galavision (Channel 517).  These nine channels replace four networks – Cine Latino, VH Uno, Canal Sur, Cartoon Network Espanol – that were not highly viewed.

[snip]

In an effort to more closely group channels by genre, Comcast adjusted the location of several networks in the channel lineup.  Last week, the following networks moved channel position while remaining in the same level of service: TBS (to Channel 51 from 31), Spike TV (to Channel 68 from 32), The Golf Channel (to Channel 32 from 68), ABC Family (to Channel 48 from 70), Court TV (to Channel 67 from 71), FX (to Channel 31 from 72) and MSNBC (to Channel 80 from 73).  WE TV is now part of the Digital Classic lineup on Channel 350 and was previously part of Standard Cable on Channel 48.

For more information the company says to go to Comcast.com.

UPDATE:
We had posted that the changes went effect last week, but it is actually Tuesday October 23rd.

Houston home sales show big declines

The Houston Business Journal is reporting that the Houston area real estate market is seeing its biggest decline in home sales in more than a decade:

The number of single-family homes sold in Houston in September was 5,061, 15.1 percent lower than in September 2006 and the largest year-over-year decline since April 1995, according to statistics from the Houston Association of Realtors.

There were 5,984 total property sales during the month, a 16.7 percent decrease compared with September 2006.

Properties sold during the month fetched a total of more than $1.2 billion, an 11.9 percent decrease compared to last year's nearly $1.4 billion in September sales.

READ THE REST

Comcast launches new video on demand service in Houston

Comcast sent us a notice that they are adding its On Demand services to the Houston area. The company says the Houston area will have 9,300 programs a month to watch with 150 hours of HDTV content:

Comcast’s ON DEMAND introduction began last week in the Bear Creek, Sugarland and Rosenberg areas of Houston with additional communities to be launched on an almost weekly basis through the end of the year until fully rolled out.  Digital Cable customers will receive detailed written communications in advance of the launch of ON DEMAND in their area.  Customers who subscribe to a digital level of service will receive ON DEMAND automatically, with no need to sign up or receive new equipment.  ON DEMAND is easy to access by simply tuning into Channel 1 or pressing the ON DEMAND button on the Comcast remote control.

[snip]

Other than HD, programming categories include:

Movies:  More than 800 movies available each month, including the latest Hollywood hits, all-time classics and HD films.

Network Primetime:  Hit CBS and ABC shows, including CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, Survivor, Desperate Housewives and Lost (starts with winter 2008 series return), which will be available the day after they air.

TV Entertainment:  Programs from dozens of leading cable networks, including MTV, VH1, E!, USA Network, Discovery, Lifetime, Oxygen and TNT.

Music:  Hundreds of music videos, behind-the-scenes programs and concert clips along with Karaoke ON DEMAND.

Kids:  Popular children’s programs from PBS KIDS Sprout, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Noggin and Discovery Kids.

Sports:  Extended game highlights from the NFL, as well as action from NBA TV, Speed Channel and VERSUS, including draft picks and player information.

Premium Channels:  Movies and award-winning original series from premier networks like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Starz and Encore.

News and World:  Stay informed with CNN, Military Channel, Travel Channel, History Channel, National Geographic and Animal Planet.

Life and Home:  New recipes, decorating tips and wardrobe dos and don’ts are available with ON DEMAND selections from the Food Network, Digital Cookbook, TLC, HGTV and Style.

En Español:  More than 130 hours of Hispanic programming, including Mi Cine, a showcase of popular Mexican cinema, ranging from action-packed films to popular “rancheras” from the 1930s to today.

The vast majority of ON DEMAND content is available at no additional charge to Digital Cable customers.

 

METRO bus and rail maps now for iPods

Apple iPod users have one more use for the popular music device -- METRO bus route maps. METRO is now making these maps available to download and take along with your music and videos.

The following directions are how the Houston transit agency says you can download the maps to an image capable iPod:

Download the Zip file and decompress it with WinZip (PC) or StuffIt Expander (Mac);

In iTunes, with your iPod connected, select your iPod in the device list, then click the Photos tab;

Select Sync photos from... Browse to the location where you stored your folder and then mark Selected Folders. Choose the folder or folders of the maps you downloaded.

Click Apply and the images will be transferred to your iPod.

To download your route maps go to www.ridemetro.org.

The maps are available for METRORail and commuter bus routes. METRO says the local bus routes will be available to download soon.

Health inspector finds roaches in restaurant kitchens

By Jeff Ehling

(10/11/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Go inside kitchens as we follow along with health inspectors as they check out restaurants on Houston's west side.

Taqueria El Campesino in the 7700 block of Bellaire is the first restaurant on Inspector Abeid Fells list. It has a clean kitchen, with only minor violations that were corrected on-site.

Up next is the Olympic Chinese Bakery in the 9200 block of Bellaire. At first, owners said we could follow inspector around the restaurant, but when we saw a bug on the floor, we were asked to leave. The inspector says he saw problems.

He said, "They had a roach or two in the back.  They had issues with cleaning the walls."

Inspector Fells says the bakery does have regular pesticide service. Owners promised call an exterminator and to step up the cleaning, but Fells will be back in two weeks.

Next up is Lucky Dragon, just a few doors down from the bakery. We saw more roaches here -- one near the dishwashing area and another near the back of the kitchen.

'There were just too many roaches in there, so he had to receive a citation," Inspector Fells explained.

When a restaurant is fined for having roaches, owners must go before a municipal court judge who sets the fine. It can range from $50 up to $2,000.

The inspector says the owners recently fumigated so he did not close the restaurant, but added more needs to be done to stop the pests.

He said, "I will also conduct a reinspection, possibly next week and if those conditions don't improve it'll be another citation and a closure, or just a closure."

The city health department inspects dozens of restaurants each week and we are showing you just a fraction of those they visit. But if you'd like to see those reports, you can look them up in the city of Houston's online database.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Nintendo's Wii is hard to come by in some parts

By Jeff Ehling

(10/06/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - While Halloween is still a few weeks away, you might want to start thinking about Christmas.

If you're not careful, the toys your kids want could be gone long before you start looking.

It's one of the hottest toys this year, the Wii game system from Nintendo. If your kid wants one, it will not be easy to find. From Wal-Mart, to Target, to Circuit City, to Best Buy, the stores sell out as soon as supplies arrive.

The Wii system is so hard to find, that we could only find one console. It was a display model at Best Buy and it was not for sale.

If you want one of the $250 game systems, the best advice is to call the store every day. Supplies usually come in at night, so call first thing in the morning.

If you have not started your shopping yet, you are not alone.

"Oh, my goodness, heavens no," said Ret Ekdah. "I don't start until two days before Christmas."

"It's October, I don't start until the 23rd of December if I am lucky," said Marina Houghtaling.

But parents may want to rethink that strategy. Retailers are cutting prices now on popular toys and that could mean supplies will dry up before December.

Wal-Mart is leading the way, cutting the cost of:

Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera to $54.88 -- down from $64.88 "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" game for $10, down from $18.96 Razor Ripstik Caster Board, $77.77 instead of $93.93.

Some parents say the price reductions and the ever expanding recall list are forcing them into the stores now.

Other retailers have not followed Wal-Mart's cost cutting lead. That means toys that sell out in that store may be available elsewhere, but you'll pay more for them.

(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Houston consumer trends

More than 12,000 consumers living in the Houston area have joined Angie’s List, submitting reports and giving A-F grades on nearly 8,000 local companies in the last three years the company says.  Angie Hicks talked to the Consumer Blog about the trends the company has discovered concerning the Bayou City.

In the three years Angie's List has been in Houston, what have Houston consumers been most interested in on your site?
Angie Hicks: Since opening in July of 2004, we've grown to more than 12,000 Angie's List members. Those members have also submitted reports on more than 7,700 companies in the greater Houston area. The most popular categories have been Plumbing, Handymen, and Electrical, although storm-related categories such as hurricane shutters are also popular with Houston members, seasonally.

What business area have Houston consumers had the most complaints about?
  Angie Hicks: We hear the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to   consumer experiences with local service companies. Generally, the categories   most complained about are big ticket services such as solar panels, mold remediation,   and home warranty companies. Common complaints include high prices, which sometimes   are unavoidable, unexpected issues that arise, and poor communication between   consumers and the service company.

What area have Houston consumer been happiest with?
  Angie Hicks: Categories consumers rave about are generally more personal,   routine services such as animal groomers, vets, organization companies, and   hair stylists. A good rule of thumb: when you find a company you like, stick   with them. They're more likely to provide better service to a repeat customer.

Go inside Houston restaurant kitchens to see what health inspectors find

By Jeff Ehling

(10/4/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - A 24-hour kitchen and a local meat market were both due for an annual inspection, and Eyewitness News was there to see how they fared in this week's Rat and Roach report.

Inspector Remonda Robinson took us along to the International House of Pancakes at 13405 East Freeway. Managers decided they did not want our cameras to follow along.

We asked, "Is it OK if we follow her through the kitchen?"

"No sir, I can't allow you to do that," was the response.

It took four hours to wrap up the inspection. That's an unusually long time. The health inspector found quite a few problems.

Inspector Robinson said, "They had quite a few serious violations, like food at the wrong temperature and employees not washing hands properly."

Inspector Robinson told Eyewitness News she found food that was left out for more than four hours including ham, beef and chicken. All of that had to be thrown away.

"Because there is a possibility that bacteria could grow and if it is out of temperature for over four hours it could make people sick," she explained.

Robinson also found dirty shelves and dirty utensils. With that many violations, Robinson says she'll have to come back. IHOP has a reinspection in two weeks.

Up next is La Michoacana, Carniceria, Fruteria and Taqueria at 851 Federal. It's an all-in-one meat market, supermarket and restaurant.

Right away Inspector Robinson found a violation -- boxes stacked up outside the back door. Robinson says they can attract flies and other insects. Employees immediately threw the boxes away. Robinson says she found problems inside, too. She said, "The walk-in cooler is going to have to be quarantined because it's not cooling properly."

That means no food can be stored in it until it gets fixed. Robinson says she found flies, food on the floor and cooked rice that needed to be thrown away. Robinson will reinspect the restaurant in two weeks.

The city health department inspects dozens of restaurants each week and we are showing you just a fraction of those they visit. But if you'd like to see those reports, you can look them up in the city of Houston's online database.

Rat and roach report

    

Marvin's original Friday Rat and Roach report highlighted health problems at area restaurants, and we will continue to bring you this valuable information, but this time with Jeff Ehling.

Here is a way you can look up a Houston restaurant's inspection report.

http://houston.tx.gegov.com/media/search.cfm

This link gets you there, but we need to give some instructions too.

1.  You'll need to enter the name exactly as it appears.
2.  Second, you need to check out the dates, make sure your search start date goes back at least three months.  Some restaurants are reviewed once a year, so you may need to adjust the year if nothing comes up.
3.  You'll need to click on the restaurant name when it appears to see the inspector's findings and corrective actions taken

   

    

Marvin's original Friday Rat and Roach report highlighted health problems at area restaurants, and we will continue to bring you this valuable information, but this time with Jeff Ehling.

Here is a way you can look up a Houston restaurant's inspection report.

http://houston.tx.gegov.com/media/search.cfm

This link gets you there, but we need to give some instructions too.

1.  You'll need to enter the name exactly as it appears.
2.  Second, you need to check out the dates, make sure your search start date goes back at least three months.  Some restaurants are reviewed once a year, so you may need to adjust the year if nothing comes up.
3.  You'll need to click on the restaurant name when it appears to see the inspector's findings and corrective actions taken

   

1-800-Flights is new way to help with flight info

The Houston Business Journal wrote about a local guy who has started a service to help you with flight information:

Launched Monday, 1-800-Flights offers up-to-the-minute arrival and departure status, as well as gate information, for every flight that originates or terminates on U.S. soil. That's 141 airlines spread over 432 domestic and 173 international airports.

The goal is to provide one phone number for travelers -- and those who pick them up -- to remember, instead of ones for multiple airlines.

READ THE REST

Red light cameras to now pick up illegal turns

Houston's red light cameras are now looking for drivers who make illegal turns.

Houston city council changed the camera ordinance in August, to allow $75 citations for drivers who don't make a complete stop at a red light before turning. The change takes effect today at 20 intersections across Houston. There are a total of 70 red light cameras throughout the city.   

VIDEO: Jeff Ehling talks cheap eats in Houston

Jeff Ehling talks about Collina's Italian Cafe.  It's one of his favorite places to eat a cheap lunch in Houston.

See the last cheap restaurant Jeff talked about

See some of our other favorite Houston restaurants

By the way, no one from abc13 receives money, advertisement or free meals when picking out these favorite restaurants.

Two Houston TV items today

We talked about this a while ago, but today the Comcast Cable Houston rate increases go into effect. (READ MORE)

In other TV news, we learned that AT&T's U-verse system is now available to 400,000 homes in the Houston area.  That includes Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Montgomery counties.  (READ MORE)

Pet grooming and care shouldn't make you take a second mortgage

Let's face it, our pets are like family.  That also means the amount we spend on them has increased too.  Angie Hicks of Angie's List talked with the Consumer Blog about ways to cut down the costs of pet grooming.

Mike McGuff: What are some things a pet owner can do themselves concerning their pet that can end up saving a lot of money?
Angie Hicks: These days, pets are more a part of the family than ever. In fact, in a recent Angie's List poll, 75 percent of respondents consider their pets a member of the family and more than a third spend $50 or more on grooming each month. While not everyone is comfortable grooming their pet at home, routine brushing and teeth cleaning can cut down on the number of visits to the groomer.

Mike McGuff: Grooming is a big industry, what should a consumer look for   when trying to decide on the right place to take their pet?
  Angie Hicks: Finding a groomer your pet can feel comfortable with begins   with finding one you are comfortable with. Shop around. Ask potential groomers   about the services they offer, pricing, and hours. Before settling on a shop,   take a tour. The facilities should look and smell clean. Ask where the animals   are kept and observe how the staff handles the pets.

Mike McGuff: What are some complaints Angie's List has received concerning   pet groomers?
  Angie Hicks: Common complaints are that the grooming process took longer   than expected and dissatisfaction with the way the grooming turned out. Communication   before the appointment can help alleviate these problems. Talk with your groomer   about any special requests you have.
 
  Mike McGuff: Talk about mobile groomers, is that an easier option on the   pet? Does it cost more? Do you have to be more careful since they come to your   home?
  Angie Hicks: Mobile groomers are a great option for nervous pets or pet-owners.   They come right to your door and can ease the stress of the grooming process.   Only six percent of Angie's List poll respondents use a mobile groomer, but   they aren't necessarily more expensive than any other groomer. Regardless of   what type of groomer you decide on, do your research and meet the person before   the first appointment.

Mike McGuff: Anything else you want to add?
  Angie Hicks: Angie's List sees the most requests for animal grooming   during September and October than any other time during the year. Proper grooming   is an important part of maintaining your pet's health.

Parents beware when buying hot concert tickets

By Jeff Ehling

(9/28/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - It's one of the hottest tickets in town -- the November 11th Hannah Montana concert at Toyota Center. Demand is so high, some parents are willing to do anything to get tickets, and that's bringing out the less than honest.

One Katy woman found that out the hard way. Now Action 13 has a warning for the rest of us. These tickets are so hard to come by that only a handful are available online. That's why you have to be very careful when it comes to buying Hannah Montana tickets from anyone online.

For two weeks Heather Malek has been trying to find tickets to the Houston Hannah Montana show for her son.

She said, "He really wanted to go see Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers who are opening for her, so it's very important for me to make him happy."

Her quest took Malek to Craig's List.  The website allows people to buy and sell all sorts of things, including concert tickets.

"Actually there was a very reasonable offer online so I emailed and asked the person if the tickets were still available," Malek explained.

The seller emailed back saying his boss had just been transferred to London and needed to get rid of four Hannah Montana tickets for $75 dollars each, for a total of $300.

Malek recalled, "So I said, 'This is perfect, I'll take them.'  And that's where the trouble started."

Malek says the seller wanted her to pay for the tickets by Western Union, and to reassure her things were legitimate, the seller told Malek the purchase was guaranteed by a website called Square Trade. It turns out Square Trade is a real website that offers warranties for things bought on eBay. So Malek called the site herself.

"They said, 'We are not affiliated with Western Union and we certainly do not warranty any kind of tickets,'" she explained.

It was enough for Malek to walk away from the deal. When we called, Square Trade officials confirmed the site does not back ticket sales and never deals with Western Union payments.

Todd Quattlebaum runs an eBay drop off store. He says if you pay someone by Western Union you have no way to recoup your expenses if something goes wrong. He advises using a credit card for online purchases.

Quattlebuam said, "You should not make a payment to people you do not know without using a credit card."

Here's something to keep in mind -- there are only about 60 eBay listings for the Houston Hannah Montana show. So if you are trying to buy them, it is extremely important to know the seller and make sure to use PayPal or a credit card if buying online.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

VIDEO: Marvin Zindler's legacy lives

Marvin's producer, Lori Reingold, filed a "Marvin's Angel" story Friday on our 11 am news.  We are calling the stories "Action 13 Angels." Lori did a great job! Marvin's legacy lives on. Here are the links Lori talked about in the story:
http://www.opt.uh.edu/uei/
http://www.eyecareforkids.org/

Let us know what you think.

If you need help, email Lori here.

Lead paint warning in Houston houses

We have a lot of houses in the Houston area that possibly have lead paint in them and that is not a good thing.  Angie Hicks of Angie's List talked to the Consumer Blog about the dangers of lead paint in our area:

Mike McGuff:  What are the dangers associated with lead paint?
Angie Hicks:  Lead-based paint becomes dangerous when it's chipping or disturbed.  Children under 7 are at greatest risk for lead-based paint poisoning and the only way to determine if they've been affected is through a blood test.  Because their bodies are so small, lead poisoning can have a severe effect on them, including irreversible brain damage. 

Mike McGuff:  Are there a lot of homes out there with this problem?
Angie Hicks:  Any home built before 1978, the year the U.S. banned residential use of lead-based paint, could have lead-based paint in it. If your home was built before 1960, it almost certainly does have lead-based paint.  In Houston, 67 percent of homes were built before 1980 and 24 percent of those are pre-1960 homes, making lead-based paint a real danger for Houston homeowners.

Mike McGuff:  Do you find that homeowners aren't aware of the danger?
Angie Hicks:  The recent toy recalls have brought the dangers of lead-based paint to the front of parents' minds.  However, most people don't realize that the greatest danger from lead-based paint is in the home.  Forty percent of Angie's List poll respondents who live in a home built before 1978 are uncertain whether their home contains lead-based paint.

Tell me about the tour Angie's List is taking concerning the lead paint   warning.
Angie Hicks:  This summer, Angie's List staff randomly contacted 175 professionals who deal with lead-based paint, both contractors and hardware store owners, to ask about how to properly renovate a baby's room in a 1920's home.  More than a third of them gave dangerous advice on how to remove lead-based paint.  This prompted Angie's List to launch a nationwide Lead Safety Tour.  We are partnering with local health departments and other organizations to provide blood lead level testing for children, education for homeowners, and training for contractors who commonly deal with lead-based paint.  We don't currently have a date set for Houston, but you can log on to http://leadsafety.angieslist.com for more information.

Mike McGuff:  Anything else you want to add?
Angie Hicks:  When you hire a contractor to deal with lead-based paint, that professional is required to give you an EPA pamphlet titled "Protect your Family from Lead in your Home."  Eighty-Five percent of Angie's List poll respondents say their contractor never offered them the pamphlet. Finally, if your contractor tells you lead-based paint isn't a problem, find a new contractor.

Cost of Complaining?

Today Action 13 Consumer Reporter Jeff Ehling took a look at the fees the city of Houston charges for water bill disputes.  If you get a big water bill and want the meter reread, you could be charged 10 dollars if no problems are found.  If you want the meter field tested, you can be charged 25 dollars if no problems are found.  If you request a bench test of the meter, and no problems are found, you can be charged 50 dollars.  City officials say fees have not gone up in 40 years and since the cost of business has gone up over the last 2 decades, the fee hikes were necessary.

If you get a bill that's big because of a leak, you can ask for an adjustment and you may be allowed to pay less than the bill.  Also if you have an unusually large bill you can for an adjustment as well.

The fee structure and forms can be found on the following link https://www.houstonwaterbills.houstontx.gov//SpecialMessages/chapter_47_webpage_new.pdf

Scroll down to the bottom of the link to see the bill adjustment forms.

Top Ten list of thieves' most wanted vehicles in Houston

Go see the HPD top ten list of the most stolen cars in Houston for August 2007.

VIDEO: Jeff Ehling goes into Houston kitchens with Rat and Roach Report

No one could ever replace our late Marvin Zindler, but we're keeping much of his important work living on.

Marvin's original Friday Rat and Roach report highlighted health problems at area restaurants, and we will continue to bring you this valuable information, but this time with Jeff Ehling.

Here is a way you can look up a Houston restaurant's inspection report.

http://houston.tx.gegov.com/media/search.cfm

This link gets you there, but we need to give some instructions too.

1.  You'll need to enter the name exactly as it appears.
2.  Second, you need to check out the dates, make sure your search start date goes back at least three months.  Some restaurants are reviewed once a year, so you may need to adjust the year if nothing comes up.
3.  You'll need to click on the restaurant name when it appears to see the inspector's findings and corrective actions taken

Houston home builders consumer satisfaction study by JD Powers

We bring this to you every year, so here are the rankings for the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study.

As it has in the past few years, Pulte Homes came out on top in consumer satisfaction.

SEE THE HOUSTON HOME CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RANKINGS FOR 2007

Houston woman finds Pimp My Ride web site has nothing to do with MTV

By Jeff Ehling (9/19/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Janet Hart's 1991 Chevy truck has seen better days. It does not start, the paint job is peeling, the interior is torn, it needs body work and maybe a new muffler too. The truck's condition is why the owner turned to reality TV for a fix up.

"I went to Pimp My Ride, thinking that they would help me," Hart said.

If you don't know, the MTV show called Pimp My Ride turns clunkers into show stoppers and that's what Hart hoped for when she visited a web site with the same name. Hart says after applying online, she was contacted by the web site and asked to send $20 through PayPal to process her application.

"I thought that was legitimate," Hart said.

Hart says it's been weeks and she has not heard back from the site, but has heard from other car owners who also sent $20 to the website.

"They are not getting theirs either and they have submitted money," Hart said.

It turns out the web site is not affiliated with the show at all. We found out the site is run by a company based out of the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

An MTV spokesperson told us they never charged to be on the show and only cars from Southern California were ever selected for the transformation. They also said the TV show is no longer being made.

So what does Pimpmyride.com have to say about the $20 fee? When we called the listed contact number, only a computer modem answered.

"People should never send money to a web site if you can't contact them because if you can't contact them before you send money, you certainly won't afterward," said Deana Turner with the Houston Better Business Bureau.

As for Hart, she's come to believe her $20 is the only thing in this deal being "pimped."

"Twenty bucks is hard to come by for some people, I know it is for me," she said.

MTV also tells us any show affiliated with the network can be accessed from its web site, and no show has its own separate site.

Right now it seems doubtful Hart will get her money back, but those who use Pay Pal can dispute the charge and see what happens. (Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

UPDATE

An update on the story we brought you yesterday. We've heard back from the people running pimpmyride.com. The company admits it has no affiliation with the MTV show and says it makes no such claims on the its web site. As you'll recall, we spoke with a fan of the show who went to the web site hoping to get their truck fixed. The person was selected by the site, and we're told to pay a $20 fee. Site operators say the money is a processing fee and customers are eligible for discounts on parts and accessories.

As for refunds of the $20 processing fee, the company told us if you ask for it within 72 hours, you get it all back, within 15 days you get half of it back and after that, no refund.

Houston Dining on the Cheap

We’ve made videos before on the Consumer Blog about eating lunch in Houston on the cheap, but did you know there is an entire book devoted to the subject? Let me add, it is a thick book too, full of 300 restaurant reviews.

In Houston Dining on the Cheap, author Mike Riccetti takes readers through the city and breaks each restaurant down by price, cuisine, hours, credit cards, service, alcohol, entrée prices, atmosphere & décor, appeal, menu suggestions and a lengthy review. Did you get all of that?

I particularly liked the lists of restaurants by cuisine and location.  In a city this big, you sometimes need a little help, especially when you find yourself in an unfamiliar part of town.

So if you are looking for the price of an entrée at This is It or a menu suggestion at Dumpling King, then you might want to check the book out.  Heck, I might start carrying it around in my car. 

The book can be found in bookstores around Houston and also on Amazon.com.

Non-profit helps consumers with foreclosures in Houston

By Jeff Ehling

(9/17/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - If you're facing foreclosure, you need help! But often people in that situation do not know where to turn to get it. Foreclosures are on the rise in Harris County and in places around the country. Many of those losing their homes are among the poorest in the community, but there is a place some can turn for help.

Anitra Johnson is down to her last option in her fight to save her home from foreclosure.

"I'm here to try to maintain my property and to not become evicted out of my home," Johnson told us.

A few years ago Johnson took out a home equity loan to cover growing medical expenses. The loan had an adjustable rate and now the payments are more than Johnson can handle. Johnson believes an eviction notice is right around the corner and that's why she's in the offices of Lone Star Legal Aid.

"If I only had known that this service was available, I would have charged right over here in no time," she said.

Lone Star Legal Aid is a non-profit agency that provides all kinds of legal assistance to the needy. Lately the attorneys here are seeing people caught in foreclosures.

Rosyln Jackson is an attorney in the housing consumer unit. She says there are things that can be done to delay and even stop the foreclosure process. The first step is reviewing loan documents.

"Whether or not the individual may have qualified for the loan, if they were not employed, how were they able to get the loan," asked Jackson. "[Next we look] at predatory lending issues that may have come up with that."

The aid is available only to those who qualify and qualifications are based on income.

"If you are eligible for any federal benefits, you are probably eligible for us," said Paul Furrh with Lone Star Legal Aid.

Even those who do not qualify for aid can benefit from one piece of advice when they start having problems making mortgage payments.

"Many times a person, simply by getting on the phone, can get pretty decent relief for a situation just by explaining their situation," Furrh said.

Most people facing foreclosure do not seek the help of an attorney. After all, if they can't pay the mortgage they can't pay a lawyer, but Lone Star Legal Aid is a free service. Again it's based on financial qualifications but the bottom line is help is out there.

Here in Houston you can call the office at 713-652-0077. We also have a link on The Consumer Blog for contact information. (Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Houston is a big Wi-Fi city

The Houston Business Journal is reporting about a study that says Houston is among the world's best when it comes to Wi-Fi connectivity:

According to a semi-annual survey by iPass Inc., Houston ranks fourth worldwide in terms of the number of WiFi sessions reported through local WiFi "hotspots" such as airports, hotels, coffee shops and other retail locations.

London, England, topped the list with nearly four times as many reported sessions as the No. 2 city, New York. Chicago was third and Dallas was in fifth place.

READ THE REST

This is surprising considering I can hardly find a Wi-Fi signal on an iPhone.

Hannah Montana tickets were tough to get

Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle writes about the Hannah Montana ticket sale this past weekend:

The concert is sold out, but a quick surf of the Internet shows hundreds, if not thousands, of tickets available for resale — with nosebleeds going for $400 and close-up seats running $2,000 each. And that's not counting tickets available at legitimate secondary-market ticket sellers. Who knows how many tickets they have?

Face value for Hannah Montana tickets was $25 to $65.

Here's how the problem happens. Regular folks who needed two or four tickets bought eight tickets. Now they're hoping to sell them at a huge profit. I actually know a guy who does this on a regular basis. When a concert comes to Houston, he wants two tickets but buys four. Then he sells the other two tickets for twice face value.

He winds up going to the show for free.

READ THE REST

So did anyone end up getting tickets?

Fighting Foreclosures

Today Action 13 Consumer Reporter Jeff Ehling introduced us to Lone Star Legal Aid.  The non-profit agency helps low income residents fight to keep their homes. (READ FULL STORY)

Attorneys say many times home owners can keep their houses, if they know how to fight a foreclosure.  The first step is an open line of communication with your lender.  If you know you will have trouble paying the mortgage, call your lending institution.  Often they can provide a solution. 

If that does not work, an attorney may be the answer. 

Lone Star Legal Aid is funded with State and Federal money.   If you need assistance, contact the agency at the following link: http://lonestarlegal.org/branchoffices/houston.html

We received an EMMY nomination

We received a nomination for Jeff on the Job 2 in the 5th Annual Lone Star EMMY Awards.

Public/Current/Community Affairs-Program/Special

Jeff on the Job 2
KTRK ABC 13
Michael A. Carl, Editor/Photographer
Michael McGuff, Producer/Writer
Michael Lukaszewskyj, Photographer
Jeff Ehling, Talent

There were a lot of KTRK nominations too. Wish us luck!

You voted Mike McGuff to the Dobie vs Clear Brook game tonight!

Your many votes are in for the 'Where should we send Mike?' poll and I am going to the Dobie vs Clear Brook game tonight!

Thanks to all of you who voted!  It was a HUGE response.

I'm bringing my camera and giant memory card to snap some high school action.   

I wonder if there will be nachos out there?

Remember to come back next week and vote for my next Friday night stop.

Go inside Houston restaurant kitchens to see what health inspectors find

By Jeff Ehling

(9/13/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - No one could ever replace our late Marvin Zindler, but we're keeping much of his important work living on. Marvin's original Friday rat and roach report highlighted health problems at area restaurants, and we will continue to bring you this valuable information, with a bit of a different look.

Keeping a kitchen clean is not an easy task, but when you run a restaurant, it's the law. The city of Houston makes sure where you eat is up to code. Health inspectors say nothing keeps restaurants on their toes quite like our rat and roach report.

Health inspector Gene Bowden took a thorough look at the kitchen of Amazon Grill at 5114 Kirby during his most recent visit. In the walk-in cooler, Bowden sees a common problem -- the cooler is not cold enough.

Remember, if meat reaches room temperature and stays there for two hours, bacteria could start to grow and could leave you sick. That's something to keep in mind for your own kitchen.

At Amazon Grill nearly 300 pounds of meat had to be thrown away. The owners got a repair man out and fixed the problem on the spot.

"We have our maintenance guy here and we are going to attach our cooler to the alarm system to receive immediate notification when something does drop below temperature," promised Bobby Wells with the Amazon Grill.

Across town, inspector Marcia Washington is doing a follow up at the Shoney's at 2360 South Loop. Store managers called the staff and said they did not want our cameras in the kitchen.  So we waited outside for the results.

Washington reported, "They had grease build-up under the grills and fryers in the cook lines and they did not have paper towels in all of the hand sinks."

Nothing major, and even though managers took corrective action, they still did not want to talk to us.

Up next was Tel Wink Grill at 4318 Telephone Road. The manager didn't mind at all if we tagged along in the kitchen. Inspector Washington found the cleaning solution was not quite strong enough in the dish washer. But the owner fixed the problem right away. It was the only issue in an otherwise clean kitchen.

"It was clean, the temperatures were good," Washington said.  "They had good practices, everything was perfect."

Even in your own kitchen, hot water is not enough when it comes to cleaning dishes. Sanitizing solution is needed to get the job done.

The city health department inspects dozens of restaurants each week and we are showing you just a fraction of those they visit. But if you'd like to see those reports, you can look them up in the city of Houston's online database.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Welcome to Friday

The wife and I went to Amy's Ice Cream last night and found this sign.  We like to talk about how to get deals on this blog, but this is the first time I can remember having to sing to get one. 

I'll be honest, they aksed me to sing but I feigned spontaneous laryngitis.

The new rat and roach report with Jeff Ehling

No one could ever replace our late Marvin Zindler, but we're keeping much of his important work living on.

Marvin's original Friday Rat and Roach report highlighted health problems at area restaurants, and we will continue to bring you this valuable information, but this time with Jeff Ehling.

Here is a way you can look up a Houston restaurant's inspection report.

http://houston.tx.gegov.com/media/search.cfm

This link gets you there, but we need to give some instructions too.

1.  You'll need to enter the name exactly as it appears.
2.  Second, you need to check out the dates, make sure your search start date goes back at least three months.  Some restaurants are reviewed once a year, so you may need to adjust the year if nothing comes up.
3.  You'll need to click on the restaurant name when it appears to see the inspector's findings and corrective actions taken

Vote to send me back to high school!

After writing The Consumer Blog for a while, I feel we are close.  I can call you a friend.  So please give me a hand.

Actually it is more like a vote, so go here to cast your ballot.  It's not for best blogger in Houston, although I wouldn't complain.  This time you are voting for me to go to a particular high school game on Friday night.  It could be your school! Once there, I will snap a ton of photos and blog from the game. Here is the Pearland/Madison example.

Here are this week's choices:

Elkins/Bush
Seven Lakes/Galena Park
Cy-Fair/Alief Taylor
Langham Creek/Morton Ranch
Taylor/Cy Falls Spring/Stratford
Dobie/Clear Brook

Wow, that's local coverage!

This vote is open each week so keep coming by and send me somewhere.  I don't want to sit in the abc13.com web office alone anymore on Friday nights.

Voting ends Friday at noon.

Coupons through your cell phone

By Mike McGuff

(9/13/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Remember the days of clipping and organizing coupons? Well some modern thinking companies want you to forget about those days. Enter Houston-based WHAMtext. The company has launched what it calls an on-demand mobile marketplace that allows consumers to pull coupons directly to their cell phones via text message. What does that mean? You can get electronic discounts sent to your cell phones. The system works by texting the store or business using the service.

Say for example you wanted to order a pizza on a Friday night and wanted a discount. If that pizza place used the service, you would text something like "pizza" to GoWHAM (469426). WHAMtext's system would find the nearest participating pizza restaurant and send your mobile an electronic coupon.

In this day of nonstop ads, the company says it is not out to spam you. Jeff Lerner, WHAMtext's vice president of sales and marketing, says you only get what you send. If you don't send a text message, you won't keep receiving promotion offers forever.

"It simply allows the user to get coupons on an on-demand basis," Lerner said. "You will never receive a text message that you didn't directly request."

The company also promises never to sell your phone number to a third party marketer and there is no membership or monthly fee.

Consumers can tell if a business participates by looking for the "Powered by WHAMtext" symbol. The company says it is working with companies like Papa John's Pizza, Quizno's, Verizon Wireless and Baymont Inn.

Another Houston-based company offering a mobile marketing service is qtags. With qtags you can receive discount offers or more information about a business through your cell phone.

In a story from earlier this year, we explained that if you see an ad or product you're interested in and if it has a qtag, then you text message the product name to 78247. That spells out qtags. Next thing you know, you'll have a text message back with more information for the product on your phone. That also provides an account set up on the qtags web site that will save your searches so you can look them up later.

"So, let's say you're attending a sports game up in New York City, at one of the various stadiums," explained Allison Gower president and founder of qtags. "You may see them running recruiting ads, they're recruiting pretty heavily. They're running a 15 or 20 second spot telling people they're hiring and all throughout the spot they say, 'For more information, text NYPD to qtags.'

"[After texting] then immediately they get a message back to their phone with information, with the phone number, with a web link, so they've got it bookmarked."

Like WHAMtext, qtags costs nothing to use and promises to protect your personal information.

whamtext.com
qtags.com

Email me something to write about.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

Comcast gives DIY version for Internet installation

The Houston Business Journal reports that you can install your own Comcast Internet service:

Comcast Corp. is handing out self-installation kits for its high-speed Internet. The kit contains all the materials needed to install the service, including an installation CD and manual in both English and Spanish and extension cables.

When ordering Internet service, customer service representatives will offer the self-install kit as one of several installation options. If the customer chooses the self-install option, the kit will be shipped to his home within one week, allowing the customer to complete the installation when it's most convenient.

Connection is a simple three-step process and will take as little as 30 minutes.

READ THE REST

Think people will be able to handle this themselves?  Or will they have to call Jay Lee and the Technology Bytes crew?

VIDEO: Jeff Ehling announces new Houston restaurant reports

Today we are proud to announce on The Consumer Blog that Jeff Ehling will continue on the tradition of Marvin Zindler's Original Rat and Roach Report starting this Thursday at 6pm.  Here he is with more:

Hannah Montana tickets on sale now

Today Action 13 consumer reporter Jeff Ehling aired one of his most important stories to date: How to get Hannah Montana Tickets. (READ FULL STORY)

Here's the deal. If you are serious about getting tickets to this or any show, it's probably a good idea to become a member of the official web site for the artist. If you had done this for Hannah Montana (www.mileyworld.com), you would have been given a pre-sale code that allowed you to buy Hannah Montana tickets today. Several thousand pre-sale tickets were sold this morning for the November 11th Toyota Center show. In fact the pre-sale was sold out within fifteen minutes. If you missed out on that, you can still get tickets to see the show for face value.

On Saturday, September 15th, you can buy tickets from the Toyota Center web site (www.toyotacentertix.com).

But you should not wait until Saturday to visit the site. In order to buy tickets on Saturday you will need an online account, so go set that up right now. Be at your computer Saturday morning because the remainder of the seats will probably sell out within a few minutes. Officials tell us that only 12,000 seats are being set up for the show, so you know they will go fast.

Remember, Hannah Montana and Cheetah Girls sold out the much larger Reliant Center in only a few minutes during the rodeo. If you miss out, don’t worry, Toyota Center officials tell us you should keep checking the web site because often more seats become available a few weeks before the show. And finally, you can always check the ticket brokers for seats, but be prepared for sticker shock.

Houston Comcast transition issue with cable modem

Consumer Blog reader Jim Thompson wrote into us with the following question for our other readers:

After Comcast's transition, neither of the two PC's (w/ Win XP Pro & Vista OS's) could reliably obtain an IP address/connect with any consistency to the new Comcast service. Many long and frustrating calls to Comcast customer service resulted in my being told that my existing Roadrunner Toshiba PCX2200 cable modem was working fine and resulted in unsustainable short-term, heavy-futzing fixes or no fix at all. Some reps had the audacity to even tell me the service hadn't changed. Final option per Comcast customer service was a 1/2 day of my time wasted at my $ cost in the TBD future for an onsite service call (due to service appointment overload).

After over a week of this lunacy, I finally had to deduce on my own that the cable modem WAS actually the issue. So I finally got a customer service rep to acknowledge that I could swap the modem (I believed at the time it would just be another Toshiba PCX2200 modem) if I went to Comcast's "Bellaire" office (actually on Bissonet) and exchange my modem. Well, after waiting 30 minutes at the "Bellaire" office in what I was told was a short line, I exchanged my RoadRunner Toshiba PCX2200 modem for a (surprise!) new "Comcast" labeled Scientific-Atlanta DPC2100RC cable modem. With the new modem I've not had the slightest problem with the new Comcast internet service.

It's possible I just had a single defective cable modem, but the issue concurrence, and then resolution with Comcast service and labeled cable modem respectively lead me to believe that this is a service/modem issue across the board for RoadRunner Toshiba PCX2200 cable modem users.

As such, Comcast was either incompetent in their QA/Call Center advisory regarding the transition & new modem requirement, or hoped to greedily hit the customer up for a service call charge, which would have lasted about only 5 minutes, to swap the modems.

I'd like to know if other Comcast customers had this issue.

So comment and let the man know.

Comcast cable raises Houston rates

Don't look now, but the cost of cable is going up. All Comcast cable subscribers will see an increase on their October bill.

After Larry Soape retired and lost his leg, he started watching a lot of TV. Starting in soon it will cost him more to watch the shows he likes.

"It seems like everybody wants more money," said Soape.

Soape's cable bill is about to go up by about $9. Comcast says bills are going up 6.1% for all its subscribers.

Here's how the rate increase breaks down:

# The standard Comcast cable bill will go up $3 to $47.99 # Digital classic subscribers will see their bills go up $5 to $60.99. # Those with bundles will see a bigger increase depending on the kinds of services they have.

When the Soapes signed up for the phone, Internet and digital cable bundle they got an entry level deal, but that was a year ago.

"When it started out is was $99.99 a month, now it's $180 a month," said Pam Soape.

When Comcast took over the Houston market this summer, officials told us there would be no rate increase. Now just two months later, the company says its adding 10 extra HD channels and upgrading the Houston cable system to include video on demand.

A company spokesperson told us by phone that increasing the prices was "a decision made to closely align the Houston price to be more complimentary with Comcast prices around the nation."

When rates go up, things get busy for Damon Diamantaras.

"Typically it results in a spike in our business," he said.

Diamantaras sells satellite TV services. He says about 30% of Houston is signed up with a satellite provider. Pam Soape says she's sticking with cable, but has a secret when it comes to getting a lower price.

"After the promotional, my bill rises almost every month and when you call about that, they will tell you we have this promotion now or that promotion now and we can do this for you