Despite progress in planting trees and creating parks, the air quality in the Houston area is still among the worst in the nation, a new report by the Center for Houston's Future stated.

And Hurricane Ike is partly to blame. Between 1992 and 2005, the Houston area lost 680 square miles of tree canopy, roughly the size of the city of Houston. The hurricane compounded that problem in Galveston when it "literally decimated the tree population" on the island. In the Houston area, Galveston County "suffered the most physical and psychological effects of this double whammy" of hurricane and the severe summer drought, which also killed off many trees.

That's the bad news. The good news, surprisingly, comes from air quality reports in Texas City, where monitors discovered that the level of benzene in the air had dropped significantly. In 2004, the air quality monitor at 34th Street in Texas City registered enough benzene to cause cancer in 1 of every 100,000 people. In 2008, the monitor registered enough benzene to cause cancer in 1 of every 1 million people. That progress is significant, the report states.

It seems that while the air Texas City is getting cleaner, Galveston's air quality has gotten worse since September 2008. Thanks to Hurricane Ike, islanders will not enjoy the same fresh air they enjoyed before the hurricane for years, maybe even decades, until the trees now being planted take root and mature.

What do you think? Have you noticed a difference in Galveston's air quality since Hurricane Ike killed the trees? What about your electricity bill? Did it cost more this summer to cool your house? What kind of trees do you think should be replanted?

Galveston's smoking ban – one of the strictest in the state – has now been in place for two weeks, and not one person has been cited for smoking, according to police records.

Is that because bars and restaurants are obeying the law? Some certainly seem to be. I've noticed a definite lack of ashtrays lately, the Veterans of Foreign Wars post plastered "No smoking" signs all over the doors and walls, and I witnessed a Float bartender tell a patron to snuff a cigarette on New Year's Day.

But, I've seen people smoking outside in banned areas – on patios, decks and the sidewalk tables on The Strand – and some bar owners told me, while they strictly enforced the indoor smoking ban, they could care less if patrons smoke outside.

The lack of citations may also point to the police department's take on the ban, which Chief Charles Wiley called largely symbolic and difficult to enforce, especially given the department's limited resources. Plus, cops have to witness someone smoking to issue class C misdemeanor tickets, the equivalent of traffic tickets.

So maybe Galveston's smoking ban is a little hazy. Apparently, that's not unusual. The New York Times in December reported that six years after the city passed a smoking ban, it's easier than ever to find smokers in bars and clubs.

Time Magazine also reported in December that French smokers are openly flouting the country's ban because the government never really enforced it.

Perhaps all smoking bans are destined to be symbolic gestures, obeyed by some and ignored by others. What's your take? Are Galveston businesses obeying the ban? Or are smokers lighting up in the same places now as they did on Dec. 31?

Loyal readers of this blog may have been surprised last week to see my name instead of Leigh Jones'. As many of you know, Leigh left the newspaper in November and moved to Atlanta. I'm now covering the City of Galveston and have inherited the blog.

I've been meaning to introduce myself and ask for feedback about what information they'd like to read here. I'm not originally from Galveston (though I grew up not far away, and occasionally visited the island for family summer vacations). I moved here in March 2007, and I've moved three times around Galveston since (thanks, Hurricane Ike). I enjoy living in Galveston — I love the weather (when it's not bitterly cold), the historic houses, the way the Gulf of Mexico looks at sunrise and the island's eclectic population.

As someone who rode out the hurricane in Galveston — and lost belongings in the storm — I'm deeply interested in the island's recovery after Hurricane Ike, particularly in how people cope and rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the hurricane. That interest is probably reflected in my writing and coverage of the city. But I also know that Hurricane Ike is only part of Galveston's story. There are a million other stories to tell about Galveston - its history, its future, its buildings and its people.

Island resident Bill Broussard commented on the last blog that there is "an art in writing a blog" and he's right. Leigh was a skilled blogger, who crafted interesting and clever blogs that were highly read by islanders. I hope to do the same, but I can use all the help I can get.

Tell me what you think. What do you want to read about here?

In the newest twist in the Galveston Housing Authority saga, the board chairman distributed an email Wednesday proclaiming that the feds planned to ask the agency for less dense public housing, reversing the agency's December decision to rebuild 390 public housing units on the existing footprints.

"It appears that (commissioner) Ray Lewis' 'plan' is not going to work," Chairman Art Mabasa said in an email. "I think HUD is going to ask us for more scatter(ed) sites and less density in our present locations ... YEAH!!!"

The email sent ripples of excitement throughout the community of people who want the housing authority to revise its plan to include decrease the density at the existing footprints, and buy up vacant and dilapidated houses throughout the island for public housing. Turns out, that excitement was a little premature.

Neither Mabasa – nor anyone else at the housing authority for that matter – has heard anything from the feds about the redevelopment plan. Mabasa said he based his statements on a recent recent Daily News article in which federal housing officials say they will scrutinize the plan to ensure public housing isn’t concentrated in one area, but the agency declined to comment further until it receives the agency’s redevelopment plans.

Mabasa said he, like everyone else in Galveston, is anxious to see what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has to say about the redevelopment plan.

Mabasa said he was "kind of wondering why HUD wouldn't comment" on the plan when Executive Director Harish Krishnarao met with Secretary Shaun Donovan on Wednesday, but "maybe they haven't got all the information yet."

So Mabasa right now knows about as much as we do about federal housing officials' opinions and they have been pretty tight-lipped about the plan from the beginning, consistently describing it as a local issue. Spokesman Brian Sullivan even refused to answer questions about Galveston Housing Authority's configuration before Hurricane Ike, saying he didn't want to comment on anything that could lead to an opinion about the agency's current plan.

What do you think of the agency's plan? And what do you think the federal housing department will say about it?

Public sentiment is so fickle. One week people are ready to take on their government with pitchforks, buckets of tar and bags of feathers. The next week they seem to forget what happened to get them so riled up, only to return to it again with renewed ferocity months later. The city council will take up two issues tomorrow that have been through this cycle of anger and amnesia.

Galveston Housing Authority board members will come back before the council to explain again their plans to rebuild the island’s public housing. Rancor over the agency’s rebuilding plan seemed to die down during the summer, after the board agreed to drop the idea of building 1,000 new affordable housing units. Compared to the hundreds who signed an online petition opposing the rebuilding, few people attended meetings held in August to gather public input on the design of the three developments that will be rebuilt.

But now a small group of housing authority detractors is up in arms again. The agency reignited the passionate opposition after placing an ad in The Daily News soliciting people displaced by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina for a special housing voucher program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Agency opponents hold the program up as an example of the housing authority’s determination to “build an empire.” Several people told the council during its last meeting that it should conduct a thorough assessment of the housing authority’s operations and property management record before handing over the $25 million in disaster recovery funds it pledged toward the rebuilding.

Later in tomorrow’s meeting, City Manager Steve LeBlanc will ask the council to take up another issue that seemed to be resolved earlier this summer. The council agreed in June to give the Historic Galveston Strand Seaport Partnership $50,000 to help pay for a master plan of the downtown area. Although the merchant association started working on the project before Hurricane Ike, the city’s 300-member recovery committee included it as one of 42 priority projects in the recovery plan it submitted in April. I previously wrote several stories about the conflict between some members of the association, who would like to see Port of Galveston property used to build condominiums, and proponents of the port’s industrial uses.

But the master plan study was not really a controversial issue until county commissioners also agreed to contribute $80,000 to the study. Now, all of a sudden, it’s a big deal and Ted O’Rourke, the head of the International Longshoremen’s Association is accusing both the city and the county of funding a surreptitious attempt to take over the port. The issue has become so contentious that LeBlanc put it on tomorrow’s agenda to discuss again.

I wonder what issue will come back around in the next few months to be debated again.

This is how rumors get started: During the great smoking debate earlier this year, someone who wrote a letter to the editor said the city council surely would ban fatty foods next, since members were so concerned about islanders’ health. Lots of people didn’t read that carefully enough because we are STILL getting letters protesting the pending fatty foods ban. People are seriously dependent on their fast food!

But the ban is nothing more than a figment of hyperbole. The city council is not considering a ban on fatty foods. Seriously. You can eat as much trans fat as you want. No one’s going to stop you or give you a ticket. Chefs will not be hauled out of restaurants in handcuffs for serving mashed potatoes swimming in butter and swathed in gravy.

Although no one’s trying to ban fatty foods, I have heard some discussion around city hall about making gym memberships compulsory…

I really like the idea that the tomato and watermelon plants that popped up all over the island after Hurricane Ike came from seeds carried all the way across the Gulf of Mexico from Cuba. It gives the story I wrote earlier this week such a romantic flare. The pictures of women’s underwear handing from trellises supporting luscious fruit didn’t hurt either. Of course, I didn’t really believe the “seeds from afar” theory. But I did wonder where the plants came from and why melons and tomatoes were so common. No one I talked to before the story ran offered me a plausible explanation. Now I have to grudgingly acknowledge the seeds likely came from a much closer and decidedly less romantic locale than an island in the Caribbean.

Everyone who posted in our online forums after the story ran pointed to the city’s sewage system as the most likely source for the seeds. One poster dubbed the beautiful green melons now waiting to be harvested “fecal fruits.” Yuck. But after talking to city officials, I have to admit our readers are probably right. Workers at the city’s wastewater treatment plants often find gorgeous tomato plants growing on top of the piles of solid waste that build up at the bottom of the plants’ filtering tanks. When Ike’s storm surge came along, the water overflowed all of the treatment plants, taking everything that was in the tanks with it. The surge also backed up sewage lines full of… ahem … fertilizer on its way to the plant. That explains why the volunteer vines are so widespread and not just growing near the treatment plans. It also explains why so many of the plants came from fruits generally eaten raw. Cooking ruins seeds for replanting.

Again, yuck.

Most of our forum posters said they wouldn’t eat produce from plants that came into their yards from such a disgusting source. That was my reaction too, at first. But then I realized digestive tracts are nature’s most common source for spreading seeds. Granted, many of the plants that grow in the wild pass through birds, not humans. But the principle is the same. That’s actually how seeds are supposed to spread. There’s a reason why fruit tastes so good – it’s supposed to be eaten so it can be spread around!

I can’t imagine the watermelons would be dangerous to eat, as one poster suggested. I will admit it’s not really nice to think about where it came from while you’re serving it at your picnic. But if you don’t tell anyone, they’ll never know. Everyone I talked to who ate the tomatoes harvested earlier this year said they were delicious.

Although the people I interviewed most commonly reported having tomatoes and watermelons show up in their yards, those probably aren’t the only plants Ike spread around the island. City officials tell me marijuana is another common crop at the treatment plants. I can just hear it now: “I didn’t plant those pot plants in my back yard officer, honest! Ike did it.”