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Category Archives: Front
City Council Meeting Postponed to Pay Respects to Fallen Houston Firefighter
HOUSTON – Due to the funeral arrangements for Houston firefighter Marcelo Garcia, the City of Houston has postponed this week’s consolidated council meeting to Thursday, Nov. 14. There will be no public session on Tuesday, Nov. 12, or meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
This week’s council meeting is consolidated in observance of Veterans Day and will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14. Mayor John Whitmire, city council members, and members of the public will pay their respects during a public viewing on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home, 6900 Lawndale. Garcia’s public funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St. Joseph Pkwy.
Mayor Whitmire requests that Houstonians and those who commute to the city turn on their vehicle headlights Wednesday to honor Garcia.
Houston Public Library Receives $75,000 Grant to Expand Career Online High School Program
HOUSTON, TX – The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has awarded the Houston Public Library (HPL) a $75,000 Special Projects Grant to expand its Career Online High School Program. The funding will provide scholarships to 40 new participants in FY25, enabling adults aged 21 and older to earn an accredited diploma online. Applicants must have completed at least the eighth grade and pass a prerequisite course with 70% or higher. To apply, potential students must take a brief survey to determine eligibility. The application deadline for scholarship funding is December 30, 2024.
This grant is part of over 40 awarded this year by TSLAC, funded through the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Library Services and Technology Act. “TSLAC is pleased to recognize and support the important work of Texas libraries in delivering innovative information services that strengthen local literacy workforce and digital opportunity efforts,” said TSLAC Director and Librarian Gloria Meraz.
“Students who want to complete their high school diploma shouldn’t have to deal with the burden of extra costs. These funds will allow more students to achieve this milestone and gain other opportunities,” said HPL Community Engagement Division Manager Mercedes Clarke.
For more information about this program, please contact HPL’s community engagement and education team at 832-393-1737.
About Houston Public Library
We are a dynamic organization that serves one of the largest service areas –both population and area – in the country. 2.3 million residents in the City of Houston are the primary beneficiaries of a comprehensive customer-focused service delivery strategy.
Our system consists of 44 public service units which include one Central Library, five Regional Libraries, 29 Neighborhood and Express Libraries, three History Research Centers, four TECHLink technology centers, one Satellite location at Children’s Museum Houston, and one Mobile Express.
About The Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Formed in 1909, TSLAC is committed to giving Texans access to information and programs to improve their lives and communities. TSLAC provides historical and genealogical search assistance, federal and state government documents, electronic research, and library services to all Texans, including those who are unable to read standard print material because of physical or reading disabilities. For more information, visit www.tsl.texas.gov.
HCAD Named A Top Houston Workplace 8 Years In A Row
Houston — The Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) has been selected as a Top Workplace in the Houston metropolitan area by the Houston Chronicle for the eighth consecutive year.
“The recognition as a public-sector employer of choice only happens because of the contribution and dedication of every employee,” said Roland Altinger, chief appraiser.
“I’m so proud of everyone at HCAD. Being named a Top Workplace in the Houston area for the eighth successive year is an honor for everyone in the district because the selection is made by responses to an employee survey in which 88 percent of our employees shared
their thoughts.”
The appraisal district was ranked number 6 among the large organizations participating in the Houston Metroplex this year, its fifth consecutive appearance in the top 10. The district has also received national recognition for Culture Excellence in 8 subcategories.
“The appraisal district continues to be responsive to the needs of the jurisdictions and the public we serve,” Altinger said. “We continually look at new ways to use technology to provide faster services and easier access to property owners. We are always striving to improve our customer service.”
The top workplaces are based on an employee feedback survey administered by an independent firm that provides technology-based employee engagement tools.
The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including engagement, organizational health and employee satisfaction with the organization and their jobs.
“Building an organization where every employee feels empowered allows us to provide first-class service to the public, and those principles have helped us remain on the Top Workplaces list for the past 8 years running,” Altinger said.
About HCAD
The Harris Central Appraisal District is a political subdivision of the State of Texas established in 1980 for the purpose of discovering and appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes for each taxing unit within the boundaries of the district. The district has approximately 1.8 million parcels of property to assess each year with a total market value of approximately $895 billion. The appraisal district in Harris County is the largest in Texas, serving more than 500 taxing units, and one of the largest appraisal districts in the United States. For further information, visit www.hcad.org.
Local artist, Floyd Newsum, mourned
| The University of Houston-Downtown Mourns the Loss of Visionary Art Professor Floyd Newsum |
| “Professor Newsum was more than an artist, more than a teacher,” said UHD President Loren J. Blanchard. “He was a connector, a motivating force who worked to touch lives every day and who brought people together in remarkable ways. His art was intricately linked with his desire to nurture young artists and invest in the next generation of change agents, not only here at UHD but also in the historic Third Ward of Houston and even in communities he visited when his art was on view.” Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Professor Newsum graduated from Memphis College of Art with a BFA in 1973 and from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with an MFA in 1975. He joined the UHD faculty in 1976, and over the years taught a variety of courses, including drawing, painting, printmaking and art appreciation, among others, in addition to coordinating the studio sections for UHD’s Art Department. In 2003, Professor Newsum received UHD’s Scholarship/Creativity Award in recognition of his contributions to visual art across a variety of media and thematic investigations. During his tenure at UHD, Professor Newsum created a wide range of work as a major local artist with a profound impact on the national contemporary visual arts scene. His work is part of permanent collections at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.His numerous public art commissions include two Houston Metro Light Rail Station art designs, seven sculptures for Houston’s Main Street Square Station, four paintings in the UHD Commerce Street Building, a suspended sculpture for the lobby of the Acres Home Multi-Service Center in Houston, a relief sculpture in the Cathedral Atrium at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston and five suspended sculptures for the lobby of the Hazel Harvey Peace Building in Fort Worth, Texas. His work has been displayed in more than 100 exhibitions across the United States, including the University of Maryland College Park, Taft Museum in Cincinnati, the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Professor Newsum was one of seven visionary African American artists who founded Project Row Houses (PRH) in the Third Ward in 1993. PRH is the nationally known nonprofit organization originally comprised of 22 Row Houses that “succeeds as a social sculpture when Black art, culture, and community are protected, promoted, elevated, and celebrated in new and vibrant ways.”As a co-founder of PRH, Professor Newsum worked with James Bettison, Bert Long Jr., Jesse Lott, Rick Lowe, Bert Samples, and George Smith to build an integral part of the arts community in the Third Ward, using row houses that were once modest homes for a rising affluent Black community. The co-founders established programs that not only supported Black art and culture but also built community. Professor Newsum’s dedication to community engagement remained a central part of his personal mission throughout his career.From May through October 2023, Professor Newsum received his first large-scale retrospective, “Evolution of Sight,” at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in Madison, Wisconsin. The exhibition was organized by guest curators Dr. Lauren Cross, Gail-Oxford Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts at The Huntington in San Marino, California, and Mark Cervenka, UHD Professor of Art and O’Kane Gallery Director. “Evolution of Sight” reflected on the artist’s entire practice, including paintings and models of public art commissions such as sculptures and relief installations, with each work transmitting the deeply personal history of the artist including symbolic references and often family photographs—all veiled by richly layered color and textures that create tactile surfaces. Newsum explained: “My career covers 50-plus years of creating works of art that are exploring color, marks, and surfaces in various mediums. I call my evolution in creativity a problem-solving event of expression of the soul.”UHD is planning a number of tributes in his memory, including an endowed scholarship: the Floyd Newsum Visionary Artist and Humanitarian Scholarship with a focus on art and social justice that will be available to students pursuing Art or Social Work degrees. Contributions for this scholarship may be made at https://giving.uh.edu/UHD/Newsum-Scholarship. At the time of the “Evolution of Sight” exhibition, co-curator Mark Cervenka stated, “A comprehensive museum exhibition of Floyd Newsum’s art is long overdue. With a career emerging from the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis in the 1960s, Newsum’s layered works have consistently included both overt and subtle responses to civil rights issues. Newsum’s father, one of the first African American firefighters in the South, set an example and provided the impetus for one of Newsum’s primary symbols in the form of a ladder.” “A bold often intensely colored palette, sometimes offset with collaged elements,” continued Cervenka, “provides a foundation both for works addressing broad cultural observations and those seeking the more intimate focus of spiritual awareness and a profound recognition of love and family.”In keeping with that description of his artistic vision, Professor Newsum will be best remembered by his colleagues, friends and students at the University of Houston-Downtown for his deep spirituality, sense of joyful purpose, and the love that he unselfishly shared with all who knew him. For more information, please visit uhd.edu. ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-DOWNTOWNCelebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) is the second-largest university in Houston and has served the educational needs of the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1974. As one of four distinct public universities in the University of Houston System, UHD is a comprehensive, four-year university led by President Loren J. Blanchard.UHD educates approximately 12,000 students annually, boasts more than 67,000 alumni, and offers 45 bachelor’s degrees, 12 master’s degrees, and 19 online programs within four colleges: Marilyn Davies College of Business, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Public Service, and College of Sciences and Technology. UHD has one of the lowest tuition rates in Texas.U.S. News and World Report ranked UHD among the nation’s Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Applied Administration and Best Online Master’s Programs in Criminal Justice, as well as a Top Performer in Social Mobility. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranked UHD one of the best colleges in the U.S. for its 2024 rankings, with notable distinctions: No. 1 for diversity (tied) and No. 3 for student experience. TheStockWatcher.com called UHD a “notable institution providing high-quality online MBA programs. … UHD ensures that its graduates are well-prepared to succeed in their chosen career paths.”The University is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a Minority-Serving Institution, and a Military Friendly School. For more information on the University of Houston-Downtown, visit uhd.edu. |
Breaking News: Horror at Santa Fe High School
Houston Sun News Service
The 40-year-old neighboring town 30 miles South of Houston started the day with a tragic domestic terrorist attack allegedly by a 17-year old student at his Santa Fe High School of about 1,400 students. The high school serves a population of about 12,200 (US 2010 Census) residents in the rural town of Santa Fe, (Holy Faith in Spanish) in Galveston County. Police sources have stated that a young man has been placed in custody and nine people are dead while others have been taken to the League City Hospital and the UT Medical Center in Galveston.
Students report that there was a shooting threat in February at the high school and that they were in lockdown mode for two hours. A freshman student reported that he heard two bombs and the gunshots and a weeping 10th graders speaking through tears said that her friend was shot in the leg.
Students were evacuated to the Alamo Gymnasium at 13360 off Highway TX 6.
Commissioner Ellis Applauds Appeals Court Ruling on Bail Case
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis applauded a federal appeals court that ruled Wednesday the county’s wealth-based bail policy violates the Constitution because it jails misdemeanor defendants simply because they cannot pay money bail.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely ruled against Harris County in an appeal that the county brought in O’Donnell v. Harris County. In an opinion drafted by Judge Edith Brown Clement, the appellate court held, “We are satisfied that the court had sufficient evidence to conclude that Harris County’s use of secured bail violated equal protection.”
The panel also dismissed Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez from the lawsuit and directed U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal to craft a narrower injunction. However, the appeals court judges held that the county must follow Judge Rosenthal’s injunctive procedures until she crafts new procedures that more directly address the constitutional violations.
“With this decision, the conservative 5th Circuit is telling Harris County that it’s unconstitutional to have two justice systems: one for the rich and one for the poor,” Commissioner Ellis said. “Yet Harris County has already spent more than $5 million defending a morally and legally indefensible bail system that violates the Constitution and punishes people simply because they are poor. The ruling is a significant victory for justice and offers further proof that it is time for Harris County to settle this lawsuit and enact meaningful reforms that treat all people equally and fairly under the law.”
Judge Rosenthal entered a preliminary injunction against Harris County last April after finding that the county treats indigent misdemeanor defendants unequally solely because they cannot afford money bail. She further found that Harris County’s pretrial detention procedures for misdemeanor cases lack due process because defendants are not informed of the significance of being able to afford money bail. Her preliminary injunction required Sheriff Gonzalez to release indigent misdemeanor defendants within 24 hours of arrest if they could not afford to post a money bond.
The bail lawsuit was filed in May 2016 by Maranda Lynn O’Donnell, who spent more than two days in jail because she could not afford $2,500 bond after being arrested on charges of driving with an invalid license. Her lawsuit was merged with another lawsuit filed by two misdemeanor defendants, Loetha Shanta McGruder and Robert Ryan Ford, who were locked up when they could not afford money bail.
Last year, Commissioner Ellis filed an amicus brief in Judge Rosenthal’s court that discussed Harris County’s history of discriminatory treatment of poor defendants of color and that agreed with the O’Donnell plaintiffs’ assertions that the bail scheme is unconstitutional.
In addition to Judge Clement, the three-judge panel that ruled on the county’s appeal also consisted of Edward Prado and Catharina Haynes. The county now can seek permission for rehearing of its appeal by that panel or to have its appeal heard by all the judges on the 5th Circuit. It also can seek permission to have the 5th Circuit’s decision reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Rosenthal stated in her April order that she would schedule a trial on the merits of the lawsuit, but also warned that the plaintiffs have a great likelihood of winning that trial. The trial is expected to be scheduled soon.
Commissioner Ellis stated, “With regard to the remedy, I am confident that once additional evidence has been presented, the federal courts will implement a bail system in Harris County that protects the constitutional rights of everyone.”
Commissioner Ellis, Mayor Turner Announce $30 Million Project to Repair Streets in TSU-UH Corridor
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on March 13announced a joint agreement in which Precinct One will pay $30 million to improve seven streets in the University of Houston-Texas Southern University corridor.
“This is a great example of how Harris County can innovatively and strategically partner with the City of Houston, our universities and other entities to improve mobility, safety and quality of life for all residents,” Precinct One Commissioner Ellis said. “Precinct One is looking forward to supporting TSU and UH, and the entire Third Ward community through this project.”
Earlier on March 13, Commissioners Court voted to negotiate with two engineering firms that will develop the scope of the work.
Dubbed “Complete Streets” project, the improvements dovetail with Mayor Turner’s Complete Communities program, which involves improving Third Ward and four other neighborhoods that have been under-resourced for many years.
“Now I’m excited to see that the Commissioner is bringing safer, more attractive streets to this community of twin universities,” Mayor Turner said. “… If the improvements in these areas were just relying on the city, they would be highly incomplete. I want to thank him for this spirit of collaboration and cooperation with the city utilizing resources at his disposal in order to address many of the needs within the city and within Harris County.”
Precinct One is committing $15 million to improve infrastructure near TSU and another $15 million to projects around UH.
The goal is to create streets that are attractive and a source of neighborhood pride, while improving safety and accessibility to all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders.
In addition to roadway work, the project also includes drainage improvements, which will help reduce street flooding during heavy rain.
“This is a win-win opportunity for everyone,” Commissioner Ellis said. “Pedestrian and bike-friendly streets bring neighbors together and encourage healthy activity. I also hope that these improvements will help attract new businesses and jobs for communities in Third Ward.”
Councilman Dwight Boykins, whose District D includes Third Ward, also praised the city-county partnership.
“Given Houston’s revenue cap, it’s crucial that we lean on different partners to find innovative ways to access desperately needed dollars to support our infrastructure,” Boykins said. “As history has shown us, a collaboration between the county and the city in these matters often falls short of what we need to get this job done. That’s why I’m appreciative of the efforts of Commissioner Rodney Ellis and my friend, Mayor Sylvester Turner, who have brought $30 million into my district.”
The streets in the TSU area are Cleburne (Emancipation to Scott); Blodgett (Scott to Ennis); and Attucks (Cleburne to Wheeler).
The streets near UH are Cullen (Interstate 45 to North MacGregor); Wheeler (Cullen to Scott); Elgin (Scott to I-45); and Holman (Scott to Cullen).
“This project will significantly enhance the gateways into these great institutions by creating a beautiful streetscape for students and residents,” Commissioner Ellis said. “The improvements also will help hundreds of Houston residents who attend classes and work at the universities.”
Mayor Turner’s statement on the death of Houston City Council Member Larry Green
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