Erin Mulvaney

Housing market breaks new records

blog.chron.com — Houston-area home sales hit a record last month as more properties sold during May than any month in history. Buyers closed on 7,794 single-family homes, a 28 percent increase compared to last May, according to the latest monthly report from the Houston Association of Realtors.

Google Reader dies in 2 weeks. What will you do?

blog.chron.com — If you're a Google Reader user and you launch the RSS reader's Web page this morning, you'll get this sad, sad message: It's true. As I wrote back in March, Google is shutting down its RSS reader on July 1 - two weeks from now. That's problematic because Google prov

Ill-fated cruise ship Triumph is back in business

houstonchronicle.com — GALVESTON - Waiters handed out complimentary pink margaritas Thursday to passengers heading for their rooms aboard the Carnival cruise ship Triumph as it prepared to make its first outing since a disastrous trip in February.

No charges against HPD officer who killed double amputee in a wheelchair

houstonchronicle.com — A grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against a Houston police officer who fatally shot a double amputee in a wheelchair last fall, a shooting that spawned nationwide criticism and renewed calls locally for more accountability of law enforcement.

Green space may make a part of downtown bloom

houstonchronicle.com — A panel sponsored by the Urban Land Institute found that making the area more visually appealing, with new public parks and greener pedestrian walkways, could attract residential and retail development there.

Chronicle photographers get buzzed to support staffer with cancer

blog.chron.com — Several months ago, Chronicle photography director Steven Gonzales made a promise to Jill Karnicki, one of the paper's photo editors, that if she lost her hair during her breast-cancer treatment he would shave his head.

Heights-area residents outraged as developer clears section of park

houstonchronicle.com — A private developer cleared nearly an acre of heavily wooded land in Houston's second-oldest public park, sparking outrage from residents and city officials. [...] the Houston Parks and Recreation Department is working with the developer, Bill Workman, about the incident. Workman on Wednesday told the Chronicle the clearing was the result of a miscommunication with a contractor.

APNewsBreak: FEMA denies rebuilding funds to West, Texas, for deadly plant explosion

washingtonpost.com — HOUSTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency is refusing to provide money to help rebuild the small Texas town where a deadly fertilizer plant explosion leveled numerous homes and a school, and killed 15 people.

Fort Bend County Judge pulls proposal to develop software to monitor social media posts

chron.com — Fort Bend County Judge pulls proposal to develop software to monitor social media posts Bad timing may have killed a Houston-area proposal to develop software for monitoring social media posts about breaking news. Braun said the project involved putting together two types of open-source software, SwiftRiver and Ushahidi, to help the public assess the accuracy of massive amounts of information that is already publicly available.