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Saturday, July 29, 2017 • Vol. 62 • No. 31
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The spread of the brown anole to Texas and other areas is much the same story — they’re hitching rides in people’s cars, trailers and the like.
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Years of customer service. Dr. Gleem has a new approach to serving customers.
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An oldie but goodie. Iconic MytiBurger turns 50 years old.
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The INDEX.
Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 4B Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 5A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 4A
Heights star commits to UT
Photo design by Jonathan McElvy
Human commuting brings unwelcomed foe By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com When thinking of change in the local area, we think infrastructure, development and retail — but the natural world around us is changing right along with it. Strolling around our area, even in the parking lot in front of our local office, we’ve become accustomed to seeing those little green lizards scurrying to and fro as they please, not a care in the world. However, while those little reptiles may still be out there, they’ve been replaced – in bulk — by a fairly new, brown species. So, what to make of this breed that suddenly appears to be all we see in the yards and bushes? Anole expert Yoel Stuart, a Harvard Ph.D. and post-doctoral researcher at UT-Austin, has studied brown and green anoles and their interactions everywhere from Florida (their first documented U.S. sighting) to West Texas. According to Stuart, the critters have long
hitched rides from their native lands in Cuba and the Bahamas to the United States via the agricultural and horticultural trade. “They lay their eggs in that soil, and then they’ll hatch wherever they end up,” he said. “Initially it was just an increase in human commerce — they’re good at piggybacking on human movement, and that’s what’s made them move around so much. They’re just moving with us, and that’s the trigger.” As recently as a few years ago, Stuart said, residents would find them first in the garden department of the local Home Depot, Lowe’s or similar types of stores. From there, he said, the critters have not varied in their migratory patterns, spreading to locations such as San Diego, Taiwan, Hawaii, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and right here in our corner of Houston. “The spread of the brown anole to Texas and other areas is much the same story — they’re hitching rides in people’s cars, trailers and the like,” he said. Contributing to the specific
spread pattern, Stuart says, seems to be brown anoles’ evolutionary history of thriving in hot, tropical type climates, (such as their homeland in Cuba and the Bahamas) with an urban-style environment. As soon as you get into drier and hotter habitats, however, he noted the scurrying critters tend to reach their range limit, leading to a lack of abundance in west Texas. “Places that have relatively moderate temperatures, relatively high humidity, good insect population and lots of vegetation cover are places where [brown anoles] do really well. They’ll be great in urban areas where there’s a lot of landscaping and watering of lawns,” Stuart said. “It’s an open question as to how much they can evolve, but it’s clear that places like Houston and Louisiana – these gulf coast type areas – are very suitable for these guys.” But what has that done for our long-time neighborhood pals? See Lizards P. 3A
Jalen Green is considered one of the top area recruits in the class of 2018, and now one of the Heights’ own local stars appears to be headed west in pursuit of a dream. Last Friday night, Green, a Heights High School cornerback and four-star recruit, gave his verbal commitment to the University of Texas at Austin via his Twitter account. The soon-to-be Heights senior had received offers from schools in conferences such as the SEC, Pac 12, Big 12 and the American Conference, from schools like Texas to Alabama and the defending national champion Clemson Tigers. Green is ranked as the nation’s No. 53 player, No. 9 corner and the No. 5 player in Texas according to 247 Sports Composite. From more than 30 offers in total, Green had previously narrowed down his choices to Texas, Oregon, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State before choosing the 40 Acres. “The coaches bring it,” he told 247Sports. “I like Coach (Tom) Herman and what he is doing with the program.” Now a senior leader and team captain heading into his final season, Green has been on Heights’ varsity team full-time since he was a sophomore and even played a couple varsity games as a freshman according to Head Coach Stephen Dixon -- immediately signaling an immense talent. “Kids don’t come here and play on the varsity in the 9th or 10th grade unless they’ve got something special,” he said. Dixon has overseen Green’s growth from a quiet freshman to a player he said now not only leads by example, but has become a more vocal, accountable leader for his squad both on and off the field. “It makes me feel good that we’ve develSee UT Commit P. 3A
Photo courtesy of Jalen Green (Twitter) Heights cornerback Jalen Green with University of Texas Coach Tom Herman at his visit in March. Green gave a verbal commitment to the 40 Acres this past weekend.
Houston Farmer’s Market redo By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com A longtime Houston staple near our local area is set to undergo a massive facelift while maintaining the atmosphere Houstonians crave. Last week, MLB Capital Partners revealed its long-awaited plans to redevelop the Houston Farmer’s Market along Airline Drive into a food market Mecca on the east side of the Heights. Over the next three years, MLB Capital Partners plans to transform it into a “destination retail experience” offering more diversified products, renovated facilities and community programming along with the
market’s natural charm. “As a visitor of this market for over three decades, this is a project I am very passionate about,” said MLB Capital Managing Partner Todd Mason, noting the group’s interest ebbed and flowed for more than a decade, but finally came to fruition about 18 months ago. “Our goal is to maintain the cultural aspects that are synonymous with this great market, while enhancing the visitor experience and reinvigorating the See Redo P. 3A
Artwork supplied Shown here is the aerial view of MLB Capital Partners’ planned redevelopments of the Houston Farmer’s Market.
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