METRO opened for business in January 1979, taking over the bus service run by the City of Houston known as HouTran.

Andronikos II was also plagued by economic difficulties and during his reign the value of the Byzantine hyperpyron depreciated precipitously while the state treasury accumulated less than one seventh the revenue ( in nominal coins ) that it had done previously.

He was also plagued by escalating violence and power struggles between the lower German nobility.

Rebellions in the east, such as that of the Qizilbash, plagued much of Bayezid II's reign and were often backed by the Shah of Persia, Ismail, who was eager to promote Shi ' ism to undermine the authority of the Ottoman state.

The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the U. S. and was plagued by escalating costs, scheduling overruns, leaks, design flaws, charges of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal arrests, and even four deaths.

Built before strict federal Interstate Highway standards were developed during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, the expressway was plagued by tight turns, an excessive number of entrances and exits, entrance ramps without merge lanes, and continually escalating vehicular loads.

Elliots guidance system was plagued by accuracy problems delaying test flights.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam.

The Panthers ' offense was plagued by Jake Delhomme's six turnovers ( five interceptions and a fumble ).

Parking nightmares had plagued the city as far back as the 1950s, the little park lacked modern amenities, and New York City, which in 1957 had lost both its National League teams ( the Dodgers and the Giants ) to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, was actively courting Reds owner Powel Crosley.

Ali's reign as Caliph was plagued by great turmoil and internal strife.

" Rosen's priority was to have Compaq catchup as an E-commerce competitor, and he also moved to streamline operations and reduce the indecision that plagued the company.

However, Diderot's work was plagued by controversy from the beginning ; the project was suspended by the courts in 1752.

Guayaquil, despite being destroyed on several occasions by fire and incessantly plagued by either yellow fever or malaria, was a center of vigorous trade among the colonies, a trade that was technically illegal under the mercantilist philosophy of the contemporary Spanish rulers.

Christian's death depressed him and he was plagued by suicidal thoughts: " I live with the dead — my mother, my sister, my grandfather, my father … Kill yourself and then it's over.

Ghulam Mohammad, plagued by poor health, was succeeded as governor general in September 1955 by Mirza.

In fairness to the FCC, the 42-50 MHz band was plagued by frequent tropospheric and E-layer stratospheric propagation which caused distant high powered stations to interfere with each other.

After her major achievement, she was plagued by various injuries.

The production of the film was plagued by numerous problems, including typhoons, nervous breakdowns, the firing of Harvey Keitel, Martin Sheen's heart attack, extras from the Philippine military leaving in the middle of scenes to go fight rebels, and an unprepared Brando with a bloated appearance ( which Coppola attempted to hide by shooting him in the shadows ).

Honorius ' reign was plagued by almost constant barbarian incursions into Gaul, Italy and Hispania.

Virtual Case File, or VCF, as the software was known, was plagued by poorly defined goals, and repeated changes in management.

Biographers believe that Bacon was educated at home in his early years owing to poor health ( which plagued him throughout his life ), receiving tuition from John Walsall, a graduate of Oxford with a strong leaning towards Puritanism.

Her face was very thin, and burned by the sun until much of the skin was dead and peeling, the new skin under it red and angry.

Gavin's stallion was in the barn and he tightened the cinches over the saddle blanket, working by touch in the darkness, comforting the animal with easy words.

It was pierced by a wagon gate built of two wings.

In the brief moment I had to talk to them before I took my post on the ring of defenses, I indicated I was sickened by the methods men employed to live and trade on the river.

His face was split by a vermilion streak, his eyes were pools of white ; ;

It was pitiful to see the thin ranks of warriors, old and young, wheeling and twisting their ponies frantically from side to side only to be tumbled bleeding from their saddles by the relentless slam, slam of the cruelly efficient Hawkinses.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and went down on one knee, taking her weight so that some of the wind was driven out of him.

There was an artificial lake just out of sight in the first stand of trees, fed by a half dozen springs that popped out of the ground above the hillside orchard.

only the counter at one end was lighted by a long fluorescent tube suspended directly above it.

He had looked over my forms and was impressed by what he had seen there ; ;

The office was of logs, four rooms, each heated by an iron stove.

The building was dwarfed by the scene outside.

It was partially cemented by ages and pressure, yet it crumpled before the onslaught of the powerful streams, the force of a thousand fire hoses, and with the gold it held washed down through the long sluices.

Even Hague was repelled by the machinelike deadliness that was Kodyke.

When they reached their neighbor's house, Pamela said a few polite words to Grace and kissed Melissa lightly on the forehead, the impulse prompted by a stray thought -- of the type to which she was frequently subject these days -- that they might never see one another again.

She was sure she would reach the pool by climbing, and she clung to that belief despite the increasing number of obstacles.

It was secured by an oversized padlock.

The rustling problem was by no means solved.

Jess's coarse features twisted in a surprised grin which was smashed out of shape by Curt's fist.

Russ ran through the bills and named an amount it was highly unlikely any cowpuncher would come by honestly.

The truth was, the puncher was both bewildered and dismayed by his own mixed luck.

When it was followed by a second, whining even closer, Cobb swerved sharply aside into a depression.