In a period of just under two weeks in August, Houston, Texas, lost its eclectically-programmed college radio station and 75% of its dedicated arthouse screens.

Austin’s venerable Alamo Drafthouse chain runs just two small theaters on the outskirts of Houston while cheap Alamo knockoffs Studio Movie Grill and The Movie Tavern have proliferated throughout the city. Maybe the Houston Angelika’s downtown location, with its confusing parking situation, wasn’t the best place for an arthouse. But a region with over 5 million people should easily be able to support more than three independently-oriented movie screens. And to have the city’s two major universities conspire to effectively shut down their one college radio station borders on the unconscionable.

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