The Guidry News
© 2003, Guidry News
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The Guidry News
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© 2003, Guidry News
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Story Links: Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Clear Creek Independent School District Galveston College Board of Regents Galveston County Commissioners Court Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority
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Clear Creek Independent School District The Clear Creek Independent School District Board of Trustees has appointed Paul McLarty to the position of chief financial officer for the district. McLarty currently works at Goose Creek Consolidated ISD as the assistant superintendent of business and support services. He previously worked as chief financial officer for Galveston ISD and prior to that served as director of professional services for Galveston County Commissioners Court. Galveston College Board of Regents The Galveston College Board of Regents adopted a tax rate of $0.1952 per $100 evaluation, the same as the previous year's rate, at a special meeting at noon today. The board also approved the FY 2003-2004 Budget for the community college district. "The college has been fiscally conservative for the last two years and therefore was better prepared for the nearly $800,000 reduction in state funding," said Galveston College President Dr. Elva Concha LeBlanc. "Those state reductions and the general economic climate required the college to implement strategies of reallocated resources, increased partnerships, expanded external funding efforts and improved recruitment and retention programs." All other agenda items were approved at the brief meeting. All votes were 5-0, with Phyllis Moore, John Sullivan, Carroll Sunseri and Paul Cunningham absent. Print
Version Public Works Director Brandon Wade presented a $76 million master drainage plan for Galveston and Pelican Island to Galveston City Council on Thursday. Listen Wade said the plan would be financed by revenues generated from the drainage fees assessed to residences and businesses. The fee is currently $3 for homes, but it could be increased by the city council. The city council formally proposed a tax rate of $0.5517 per $100 evaluation, a slight decrease from the previous year's rate of $0.5549. A public hearing will be held before the tax rate and budget are approved. Transportation consultant Barry Goodman updated the city council on the Livable Communities Initiative. Listen The city council made several appointments. On a motion by Joe Jaworski, Heidi Lutz was appointed as an alternate member of the Landmark Commission. On motions by Dianna Puccetti, Samantha Bosshart was promoted from alternate to full membership on the Building and Standards Commission, Georgina Eastmond was moved from the Alternate 2 to the Alternate 1 position, Charles Marterel was appointed to Alternate 2 position, and Brian Davis was appointed as Alternate 3, and Lyda Ann Thomas was named ex-officio on the commission; and Mike Rogers was named to the Intermodal Transportation Committee. On a motion by Booker Price, Georgia Kelly was appointed to the Intermodal Transportation Committee. Cornelia Harris Banks named her two appointees to the Charter Review Commission: Andrew Houston and Debbi Cano. City Manager Steve LeBlanc and members of the city council made reports to the public. Listen LeBlanc reported that code enforcement officers are not being well received by downtown business and property owners. Listen In an interview with Guidry News Service reporter Chuck Lawrence, Mayor Quiroga urged the downtown merchants to treat city employees with respect. Listen Quiroga and Council Member Lyda Ann Thomas reported that problems are being addressed at the Boys and Girls Club in Galveston. Listen Quiroga explained to the public that the vote to interview candidates for municipal court judge was unanimous. Listen The two year term of current Municipal Court Judge John Campbell is expiring. Because of numerous complaints from peace officers and code enforcement officers, that Campbell has been too lenient, the city council decided to consider other candidates. "I think Judge Campbell is a good man and I have nothing against Judge Campbell," Quiroga said. "Judge Campbell is interviewing and wants to be appointed," noted Joe Jaworski, who is a member of a committee that is reviewing applicants. Print
Version Kemah
City Council Kemah City Council voted to release the tract of land designated for an Office Depot for annexation by Water Control and Improvement District 12. Public hearings have been scheduled for 7 p.m. on September 17 and 18 at City Hall. The city council proposed a tax rate of $0.15, which will be considered following a public hearing on September 11. The city council nominated Kemah resident Ralph Yarbrough as a candidate for the Galveston Central Appraisal District Board of Directors. The city council approved a jail/dispatch contract with the City of Clear Lake Shores. The city council voted to keep the lighthouse light on until midnight, on a trial basis. The issue will be revisited at the September 11 meeting. The city council deferred action on several items, including appointment of the parks and library boards, a proposal to raise parking lot fees from $5 to $7 per vehicle, to consider a peddler's ordinance, and a proposed advertisement in the Liesure Connection publication. All other agenda items were approved. Print
Version Clarification: League City City Council voted to retain the services of Helen Truscott as presiding municipal court judge on a day-to-day basis until a new municipal court judge has been selected. Santa Fe City Council voted Thursday night to require concrete paving of all new streets. The city council approved the first reading of an ordinance adopting the International Building Code. The final reading will be held on September 11. The city council approved the final reading of a new ordinance regulating animal husbandry activities in the city. The city council held a public hearing on the proposed FY 2003-2004 Budget, but no one addressed the council. The city council will adopt the budget and tax rate at the September 11 meeting. The city council approved a new contract for the collection of ad valorem taxes with the Galveston County Tax Office. The city council named Webster City Manager Frank Simpson as its candidate for the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool Board of Trustees. The city council deferred action on nominations of candidates for the Central Appraisal District Board of Trustees. Members of the city council wanted to discuss the nominations with other taxing entities before taking action. All other agenda items were approved. Galveston County Commissioners Court Galveston County Commissioners Court voted 3-2, with Eddie Janek and Ken Clark opposed, to approve the 2004 Budget; and voted 4-1, with Clark opposed, to approve a tax rate of $0.64 per $100 evaluation, a $0.0337 increase over the previous year's rate. Janek favored a larger tax increase, to fund more services; and Clark said the increase should have been smaller. County Judge Jim Yarbrough, while stating that this should be the final tax increase for several years, cited the unexpected revenue shortfall from the BP settlement, and noted that almost one-half of the tax increase will support bonds for the new criminal justice center. Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Members of the city councils of Seabrook and El Lago which recently voted to become additional plaintiffs in the lawsuit already filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the giant container port and cruise terminal proposed for Bayport, have issued statements of support for the lawsuit. "Our opposition is unwavering," said Natalie Ong of the El Lago City Council. "Bayport is the wrong place for this facility. The project analysis we have seen so far is biased, and the time has come to challenge it in court." City Council Member Mike Laible of Seabrook echoed Ong's view. "Seabrook developed an independent and comprehensive response to the final environmental impact statement on the Bayport proposal," said Laible. "We found it full of omissions. The public still has not been told the truth about how this project would impact our city." The suit alleges three major violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the federal Clean Water Act. It requests that the federal district court order the Corps to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement due to deficiencies in the FEIS released by the Corps in May. The
suit further asks the court to overturn wetlands policy
being followed by the Corps' Galveston District as illegal
rule-making and to require the Corps to reconsider the
extent of wetlands at the site. "A severe problem with the so-called Final EIS is that it is not at all final," added Laible. "Just last week, citizens received from the Corps yet another public notice, yet another revised permit application, this time changing the proposed mitigation measures." Ong noted that the public notification last week gave a deadline for public comments of September 12. "This fails even to give us 30 days to comment on a new mitigation plan located far from the bay area," said Ong. "Like the other plaintiffs, we have major concerns about inadequate assessment of alternatives to the Bayport site, failure to select the least environmentally damaging site, and idiosyncratic consideration of the amount of wetlands that would be impacted." Texas GulfLiner Excursion Train League City will be a pick up/drop off point for The Texas Gulfliner during Labor Day Weekend. The train will travel first to the Galveston Island Railroad Museum and Terminal, then to Alvin, where a VIP reception will be held at the historic train depot. “The Texas GulfLiner is a fantastic opportunity for League City and our neighboring communities on many levels," said League City Mayor Jeff Harrison. "It promotes tourism, provides a unique solution to mass transit issues, and increases mobility for the Galveston-Houston region. Our support of the project through Destination League City is our way of encouraging the success of the Texas GulfLiner.” There will not be activities in League Park on Saturday, however, limited handicap parking will be available at that location. Guidry News Service will be aboard the train and will post photos and audio recordings later Saturday afternoon. Persons interested in purchasing tickets can call (877) GAL-RAIL, or visit www.texasgulfliner.com. Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority In observance of the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September
1, METRO will operate bus service on a Sunday schedule and
there will be no Park & Ride service. Other METRO services will operate as follows on Labor Day: Mayor Lee
P. Brown announced on Thursday that statistics just released
by the Houston Police Department show that Houston crime rates
continued to decrease in almost all categories during the
first seven months of 2003, both citywide and on a ‘per
100,000 population’ basis, as compared to the first seven
months of 2002. News
Release “Rape
is down 18.8 percent, robbery is down 4.5 percent and
aggravated assault is down 6.4 percent,” said Mayor Brown.
“Burglary and auto theft declined 2.4 percent and
13.8 percent, respectively.” Brown noted that the murder rate was unchanged and theft was up slightly, 0.2 percent. The Texas General Land Office has established a new database to allow anyone to access grants of land issued by the governments of Spain, Mexico, and the Republic and State of Texas. A multitude of search options can be used to locate land grants, such as the name of an original grantee or patentee, the county where a tract is located, file numbers, and county and abstract numbers. The website has a page called "How to Use this
Catalog" that features Frequently Asked Questions to make
the site easy to navigate. In addition, the Archives and Records Division of
the Land Office is scanning documents in its Scrap File
collection and converting them to PDF format for the database.
This will let genealogists, title companies, petroleum
landmen, historians, academics, attorneys and Land Office
staff view data and document images on their computers. A
complete index to records in the Land Office's Spanish
Archives and Special Collection will be added later this year. "Our hard-working staff is always improving
services for our customers: the taxpayers of Texas," said
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. "We're putting
more and more information on our website that required the
attention of our busy staff, lots of paperwork and personal
visits to Austin to obtain. It boosts our productivity
and is far more convenient for the public." The database also makes it possible to get new
abstract information over the Internet, or save it on CDs.
Previously, this information was gathered every 10 years and
sent to county clerks as hard copy supplements to the original
set of abstract volumes. For additional information call (512) 463-5277or visit www.adoptamap.org. Scheduled
Meetings Today, August
29 Saturday, August 30 Sunday, August
31 Monday, September
1 Tuesday, September
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Webio Tips: Story Links, on the left side of this page, is composed of "bookmarks" to the stories in the newsletter. Click on the link to go directly to the article. Print individual articles by first clicking on the "Print Version" link, then using your regular print program. On The Online News Station, if you click on an audio link and the photos stop loading, click on Refresh or Reload and they will resume. Gulf Coast E-news, published by Guidry News Service, provides comprehensive coverage of posted public meetings in Galveston, Harris and Jefferson Counties.
This electronic newsletter
replaced, and expanded on, the mission
of Galveston Fax, established by Jim and Lynda Guidry on
Galveston Island in Dedra Black covers northern Galveston County and southern Harris County. Other reporters include Jinelle Boyd, Renee' Webster, Barbara Saunders, Carl Guidry and Chuck Lawrence. Ivan Arceneaux is a special correspondent. Drew Gilbert, who covered the Galveston City Beat, was recently reactivated into the Coast Guard for the Iraq war. We are seeking additional reporters to expand our coverage in Jefferson County. Robert John Mihovil is a special photographic correspondent for Guidry News Service Gulf Coast E-news is interactive with The Guidry News Service Online News Station, providing coverage of special events and public meetings with photos and audio. Marketing representatives are being recruited in Harris and Jefferson counties. Subscriptions to Gulf Coast E-news are $300 per year, or $75 per quarter, plus sales and use tax. A fax-only version of the newsletter is available for $400 per year or $87.50 per quarter, plus tax.
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