New business offers classic arcade games sales and rental

With titles ranging from Paper Boy to Space Harrier to Super Mario Bros., all fans of '80s arcade games will have a place to play.

By KEVIN KOLOIAN
Updated: 09.23.09
When Totally Amused Classic Arcade opens its doors on October 5, a world of childhood memories will reopen to the over 30 crowd that grew up on video games of the ‘80s.

Located at 19333 I 59 South in Humble, the business has over 100 classic arcade games and pinball machines for sale and event rentals.

It will also be open the second and third weekend of every month on Saturday and Sunday where people can play all day for a $15 fee and kids up to the age of 12 can play free.

“I played all of these games as a kid and always wanted to own my own arcade,” said co-owner Brian Steinberg, of Spring. “The thing that sparked the business is that people come over my partner’s place or mine and they want to play the games all day. They can’t believe they still exist because they haven’t seen them in so many years. It’s fun to help people get that experience.”

Steinberg and co-owner Callen Hendrix, an arcade game technician from Humble, has been planning on opening Totally Amused Classic Arcade since May, but Steinberg had the idea for the last 25 years.

Hendrix had about 20 machines stored at the location with some at restaurants and bars, and almost all the rest were at Steinberg’s house.

“About four years ago, my wife got me a ‘Punch Out’ game and she wanted ‘Centipede.’ Then it became kind of an addiction,” Steinberg explained. “You just start buying them. You remember this game and that game and you got to have them all.”

Working in advertising, Steinberg said he would love to turn the business into a full time job.

“Starting small, the goal isn’t so much about selling the games but to allow people to come in and play games from years ago,” Steinberg said. “It’s fun to see their childhood memories come poring back to them within five minutes of walking through the door.”

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Industries encouraged to plan for accident response

MARK FLEMING

Updated: 09.22.09
The state of Texas and the Coast Guard are encouraging industries to plan ahead for what role, if any, volunteers may play in responding to industrial or ecological accidents involving their facilities.

Maren Harding, an oil spill response officer for the Texas General Land Office, told the Southeast Regional Local Emergency Response Committee the request was driven by a California oil spill in which people volunteering to assist in the cleanup instead became a hindrance in the effort.

Speaking at the group’s Monday meeting, she said planning in advance of catastrophic events is the only way to effectively use available resources and prevent problems.

David Gray, of the group’s Emergency Warning System committee, said they are working with the Pasadena Municipal Channel to produce a public information segment about notifications in instances of industrial accidents.

The Southeast Regional Local Emergency Response Committee brings citizens, industry and local government together to plan for and coordinate responses to chemical emergencies.

It includes the cities of Pasadena, El Lago, Seabrook and Taylor Lake Village.

Actor Patrick Swayze Dies; Houston Native Had Battled Cancer

LOS ANGELES (September 14, 2009)—“Dirty Dancing” actor Patrick Swayze, 57, has lost his yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

Swayze died Monday with his family at his side, his publicist Annett Wolf said.

In March 2008, it was disclosed that the Houston native had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Despite the grim prognosis, Swayze continued to work on the A&E series “The Beast,” in which he starred, although he said the cancer put him “through hell.”

Swayze became a star in 1987 with his performance in the coming-of-age classic “Dirty Dancing.”

Three years later, his role in “Ghost” made him a big screen favorite.

Patrick Swayze was born on August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas, the eldest child of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes; b. 1927), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jessie Wayne Swayze (1925-1982), an engineering draftsman.[6][7] He had two younger brothers, actor Don (born 1958) and Sean Kyle (born 1962), and two sisters, Vicky Lynn (1949-1994) and Bambi, who were adopted into the family.[8] His surname originated with an English immigrant ancestor named "Swasey".[7]
Until the age of 20,

Swayze lived in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston, where he attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary School,[9] Black Middle School,[9][10] and Waltrip High School.[9] During this time, he also pursued multiple artistic and athletic skills, such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school plays. He studied gymnastics at nearby San Jacinto College for two years.

Patrick Swayze on Wkipedia.

Waterspout comes ashore in Galveston

By Chris Paschenko & Rhiannon Meyers / The Daily News & Kevin Reece / 11 News
GALVESTON, Texas — The National Weather Service confirmed a waterspout came ashore in Galveston on Sunday damaging buildings, knocking out power and injuring at least three people.

It happened soon after a strong line of storms moved into the county, and the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. A waterspout is a tornado that forms over water.

Dolphin World, a souvenir shop in the 2900 block of Seawall Boulevard, was damaged about 9:45 p.m. Debris covered the streets.

Ironically, Dolphin World survived Hurricane Ike with very little damage. But after this storm, things were different.

“It’s very, very bad. Very difficult. Basically everything inside is gone. Brings back memory of Ike,” Schlomo Hamo of Dolphin World said.

Witnesses told The Daily News that a piece of the roof from Dolphin World struck a man who was pushing his bicycle down the seawall. They said he was taken away by ambulance.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

CNN) -- Three boaters who were stranded at sea for more than a week were being reunited with their families Sunday.

Three missing boaters were returned safely to Port Aransas, Texas, after their rescue on Saturday.

A day after the U.S. Coast Guard said it was suspending its weeklong search for the boaters, the men were found alive Saturday night.

The crew of a Good Samaritan vessel found Curtis Hall, 28, James Phillips, 30, and Tressel Hawkins, 43, sitting on top of their capsized 23-foot fishing vessel about 180 miles from Port Aransas, Texas, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The men had been missing at sea since they failed to return from a fishing trip on August 22.

The Coast Guard had called off their search Friday after it said it had looked over more than 86,000 square miles.

Hall went to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, but left after he waited too long in the emergency room, his mother told CNN. He returned to his home in Palacio, Texas, to rest and will see a doctor later on Sunday for what he thinks are second-degree burns on his legs from sun exposure, she said.

After the rescue, Phillips was on his way home to reunite with his family, his wife, Shane, told CNN. He did not seek medical attention, she said.

Hawkins suffered open sores on his legs after floating in the water for eight days, he told CNN from the emergency room of a Corpus Christi hospital. He plans to leave the hospital soon and head to Fort Worth, Texas, to reunite with his family, he said. E-mail to a friend | Mixx it | Share

Remembering Officer Hamilton

By Kevin Reece / 11 News
PASADENA, Texas—Friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers gathered Wednesday morning to say goodbye to a Pasadena police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week.

Officer Jesse Hamilton, 29, was shot in the head while responding to a disturbance call in a trailer park at Shaver and Queens on Friday.

Early Wednesday morning, a large crowd of officers gathered at the funeral home to escort Hamilton’s body to the service.

Patrol cars filled the funeral home parking lot and spilled into a long line on Spencer Highway.

Officer Hamilton's casket arrives at Grace Community Church.
Around 7:15 a.m., the officers, along with Hamilton’s family, started their procession to Grace Community church for the 10 a.m. service.

A hearse led the long line of officers in patrol cars, who drove with their lights flashing.

round 7:15 a.m., the officers, along with Hamilton’s family, started their procession to Grace Community church for the 10 a.m. service.

A hearse led the long line of officers in patrol cars, who drove with their lights flashing.

More than 100 color guard members from surrounding police departments took part in the ceremony.

The funeral was followed by a 21-gun salute and a flag presentation to Hamilton's widow.

Hamilton, a four-year veteran of the force who served as a dispatcher before becoming an officer, leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Hamilton was only the fourth Pasadena police officer to lose his life in the line of duty and the first to be killed in 16 years.

Friends and family said Hamilton was excited about the next phase in his law enforcement career – training to try out for the SWAT team.

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Houston hair glue bandit victim videos prankster with cell phone

HOUSTON -- Another woman has come forward saying she too, was a victim of the so-called hair glue bandit. The woman says it happened in a Marshalls in Southwest Houston. She was looking at cookbooks when she felt something in her hair.

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"There was this man standing about a foot and a half beside me. He said, ‘Excuse me,’ and I said, ‘It's ok.’ But then I felt something warm on the back of my head," said the hair glue bandit’s latest victim, who wishes to remain anonymous. "There was this white substance on my hand. It dried instantly."

The victim says she was able to pull out her cell phone and capture video of the man who poured the glue on her.

Plus, because she didn't want him to disappear into a busy parking lot, she followed him out and took down the license plate of the car he was in. She then passed the information over to the police.

Over the past few weeks, glue victims have been studying a surveillance video taken from another attack. The latest victim claims the same man poured the glue in her hair.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.