REMEMBERING BARBARA BUSH
HPD releases road closures, safety details on Barbara Bush funeral
Steven Devadanam
Apr 20, 2018, 9:44 am
Houstonians can expect closures and heightened security ahead of the services. Map courtesy of ABC13
Originally appeared on CultureMap/Houston.
As Houston prepares to welcome former presidents and international dignitaries for the visitation and funeral for Barbara Bush, the Houston Police Department and other agencies have released safety and road closure information.
With the Obamas, the Clintons and Melania Trump expected to attend the private funeral on April 21, locals can expect delays and heightened security and scrutiny.
Visitors who plan to attend the public service at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church — at the corner of Woodway Drive and Sage Road in the Tanglewood/Uptown area — must first go to the Second Baptist Church campus at 6400 Woodway Dr. — enter the parking lots via Voss Road — to park and go through security.
A shuttle service from Second Baptist to St. Martin’s and back (for both days) will be provided, as no one is allowed to walk up or drive to St. Martin’s.
As for closures and safety:
- Woodway eastbound will be closed from Chimney Rock to Post Oak Lane.
- Woodway westbound will be closed from the West Loop to Pine Shadows Drive.
- Sage northbound from Longmont to Woodway will be closed, except to residents.
- Photography and firearms will not be permitted inside the church.
- St. Martin’s will close at midnight April 20, but the lines will close at Second Baptist prior to midnight based on the number of people in line.
- St. Martin’s also asks that visitors turn off all cellular devices out of respect for the Bush family.
- On April 20, parking at Second Baptist opens at 10 am; shuttle service begins at 11:30 am.
- On April 21, parking opens at 8 a.m., and shuttle service runs from 8:30 am to 10 am before the private funeral begins.
- The West End Brew Run 5K, which starts at West End Pub on Westheimer and Yorktown on April 21, has been moved up to a 7:45 a.m. start time to accomodate the services.
The Bush family motorcade will travel through Memorial Park on the way to the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station. It will enter College Station from northbound Highway 6 and proceed north on to Texas Avenue, according to information from Texas A&M. (Get map information here.)
Those wishing to pay their respects as the motorcade passes through College Station are asked to be in place by 2 pm.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
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