“Time keeps on tick, ticking, ticking, into the future.” - Steve Miller
By Michal Graves
Meet the new Board, Same as the old Board
As I sit down to write this, two weeks have passed since our May Member’s Meeting. It seems so long ago. As was noted in a prior email, there were no eligible nominations for the board seats that were open. However, the four directors in those positions all agreed to stand for another term. So, the WHCA board remains unchanged for the coming year.
Given this fact, I thought that the May Member’s Meeting might be smaller and shorter. That was fine, since Zion’s ongoing renovations meant that the gathering had to be held in the smaller room they call the “Chapel.” The WHCA board had met in that space once in the recent past. As I’ve presided over a couple of larger than usual Member’s Meetings, the thought of a smaller, shorting meeting was attractive.
Alas, it proved elusive. On Tuesday, May 12th some two dozen neighbors filled the Chapel. With the sun blazing in through the west-facing windows the meeting went a full 90 minutes, starting a presentation by District H Council Member Mario Castillo.
District H Update
CM Castillo highlighted a number of issues of interest to the neighborhood. He encouraged neighbors to participate in the various City budget workshops and meetings that were just then getting underway. As this newsletter is going into production, those processes have concluded. However, neighbors can still make their voices heard by appearing before council during the open sessions each Tuesday.
CM Castillo further noted that he’s sponsoring two “Shred Days” where neighbors can bring documents for secure disposal.
5/30 9-12pm at Denver Harbor Community Center
6/20 9-12pm at Local 51 Union
Traffic remains a concern. There was some discussion of the reduced, yet ongoing, heavy truck traffic though the neighborhood. A neighbor noted that a Waymo was seen running a red light. Constable Wesley Hurt advised that Waymo can be pulled over, but there’s little consequence to that action.
CM Castillo noted that the city has approved changes to the street lights at the intersection at White Oak Drive and Studewood. Traffic from White Oak turning onto Studewood will soon have protected left turn signals in both directions. He suggested that these changes may well be implemented by the end May. This is something that arose out of discussion at our March Member’s Meeting. A big shout out to neighbor Jim Chambers who championed the issue.
Constable Patrol Update
Precinct One Constable Wesley Hurt made his first appearance at this meeting. Constable Hurt is our new afternoon shift constable. His previous experience includes assignments in River Oaks and Houston Heights. With respect to some of our traffic concerns, he noted that Constables can write traffic tickets.
He further warned about issues of identity theft and fraud. He described how some people where receiving phone calls from people posing as police. They claimed to be following up on a neighbor having missed a jury duty. They claimed the neighbor could pay the fine by issuing a payment using Google Play cards or Apple cards. This is plainly fraudulent! For such issues, law enforcement will only reach out to you via certified mail.
Home Tour 2026 Wrap
Louise Moss presented a summary of the results from the 2026 edition of the WHCA Home Tour. The statistics of the event are as follows:
132 Volunteers (could have used 14 more!)
17 florists
16 committee members
7 house captains
560-806 go through the homes,
26 sponsors (raised $20k)
Ticket sales generated $30k
Net proceeds = $41k (!)
The next Home Tour will be in 2028.
Q&A
The meeting ended with an animated Q&A session. One issue stands out from that discussion. Karen Webster asked about the possibility of reducing the speed limit in the neighborhood from 30 MPH to 25 MPH. This had been considered some years ago, but at the time state law prohibited such action.
Karen noted a pair of 2025 state bills known as the “Safe Neighborhoods Streets Law.” Here’s an overview presented by the Chronicle. We promised to investigate further.
At the time of their introduction, some news outlets wrongly presented these bills as already being enacted into law. A quick check of the Bill Tracker revealed that both bills died in committee during the last session.
That means the effort will need to be revisited in the next session of the TX legislature.
Toward a More Social Neighborhood
WHCA by laws mandate that we have meetings. And we certainly try to make them useful and informative. But formal meetings alone can be tiresome. So, on Tuesday April 28th we held a “social” at EZ’s Liquor Lounge on White Oak Drive.
This more informal event presented an opportunity for neighbors to engage in conversation over a pint or cocktail. Around two dozen neighbors came out to the event, basically taking over EZ’s back patio for a couple of hours. It was certainly a good time. Also, a great way to ingratiate ourselves with one of the most recent new sponsors of Lights in the Heights.