The Guidry News
© 2003, Guidry News
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The Guidry News
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© 2003, Guidry News
Service
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Story Links: City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee Galveston County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court Clear Lake Shores City Council University of Texas Medical Branch
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City of Galveston Emergency Management Galveston Mayor Roger Quiroga and other members of the City of Galveston Emergency Management Advisory Committee were pleased with the handling of the threat of Tropical Storm Grace by the city's Emergency Operations Center, despite questions raised by Guidry News Service in an article on September 2. Article "We received fewer complaints on Tropical Storm Grace than on any other storm," Jennings said, explaining that he was in Kansas on vacation during the storm, but stayed in communications throughout. Jennings noted that Galveston County Emergency Management Coordinator Tesa Duffey-Wrobleski and Connie Nicholson from the county EOC were also on vacation during the emergency. Jennings said the decision was made to issue a "first call" telephone notification to residents of West Galveston Island before assigning someone to answer telephones in the EOC. Those telephone calls were initiated at 11:18, one hour and eighteen minutes after the National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning at 10 a.m. Jennings said the city is developing a "team concept" so that the office will continue to function even if a member of the team is away. "The changes that have been made here are just unbelievable," said Nicholson. "I believe that y'all have come a long way since Eliot's been here." Also at the emergency management meeting, Tom Read, meteorologist in charge of the Houston-Galveston National Weather Service Office reviewed weather systems in the Atlantic and noted that Hurricane Isabel has the potential to develop into a Category 5 hurricane. Print
Version Galveston County
Commissioners Court Galveston
County Commissioners Court authorized County Judge Jim
Yarbrough to sign a certificate of construction completion in
the repair of Bolivar geotubes. The
commissioners court approved the appointment of Dr. Stephen
Pustilnik as the county's chief medical examiner. The
commissioners court voted to accept a $146,742 grant from the
governor’s criminal division to operate a truancy reduction
program with the Galveston Independent School District. The
commissioners court unanimously supported Tax
Assessor-Collector Trish Gibbins' recommendation to deny a
request for a waiver of penalty and interest for a delinquent
tax payment by Karen Fleming, who said extremely serious
health problems have prevented her from working. The
commissioners court took no action on an item concerning
election judges for the upcoming September 13th
Constitutional Amendment Election, but Yarbrough took the
opportunity to encourage people to visit the polls. “It’s
not an exciting election, there’s not a lot of pizzazz to
it,” said Yarbrough, “But it is important.
We encourage you to vote at the County Clerk’s office
or a location near your neighborhood today, tomorrow, or
Saturday.” An agenda
item regarding supplemental payroll was pulled from the agenda. The commissioners court awarded a proclamation to Robert Moss, who is retiring as the maintenance supervisor in Texas Department of Transportation's La Marque office. All other
agenda items were approved. Commissioner Ken Clark, who
is in the jury selection pool for the Robert Durst trial, was
absent. Veterans
Services Officer Bob Dambach spoke to the commissioners court
in workshop about a proposed veteran’s clinic in Galveston
County. “A lot of
hard work on a lot of peoples’ behalf by you and Congressman
Lampson,” explained Yarbrough, “We’re going to have
primary care clinics available to veterans.
Now, it looks like we’re going to have funding for
two clinics--most likely one on the island and one somewhere
on the mainland. Our
veterans in this area will no longer have to go to Houston to
access primary care facilities.” “Thanks,
Bob,” stated Commissioner Eddie Janek, “Thanks for all
you’ve done.” Dennis
Kulvicki of the State of Texas Anniversary Remembrance Day
Foundation gave a spirited presentation to the commissioners
court about the promotion of blood drives within the state. Myrna Reingold, a staff attorney for the county’s legal department, discussed Dune Protection and the Beach Access Plan with the commissioners court in workshop. Photos and
recordings from the meeting will be posted on Jefferson County Commissioners Court Jefferson County Commissioners Court deferred consideration of the Jefferson County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Response Team's position on the county's FY 2004 budget and financial direction, until after additional budget meetings by the commissioners court. The commissioners court approved a grant agreement with the Texas Traffic Safety Program. The commissioners court approved an agreement between the Jefferson County Health Authority and Dr. A.C. Walkes for indigent care medical services. All other agenda items were approved. Clear Lake Shores City Council Correction: Clear Lake Shores City Council last week approved the FY 2003-2004 Budget and a tax rate of $0.24181 per $100 evaluation, as well as ordinances to support the budget and tax rate. A study commissioned by the International Council of Cruise Lines reports that the cruise industry contributed $445 million to the Texas economy as a result of operations from Texas ports last year. That is an increase of 37 percent over 2001. The study, prepared annually by Business Research and Economic Advisors, details cruise line’s economic contributions and examines the extensive links that cruise lines have with major U.S. industries. “The
Port of Galveston had three year-round cruise ships and one
seasonal ship operating in 2002 while a neighbor port had one
seasonal operation,” stated Galveston Port Director Steven
M. Cernak. “We
have long understood that the impact from cruise operations
was significant, but this report confirms what we have known
all along – that cruise business provides a major impact for
local and regional economies.” The
state received 3.7 percent of the industry’s direct
spending, which generated 7,061 jobs paying $292 million in
wage income. Approximately
267,000 passengers departed from the Port of Galveston in 2002
– a 79 percent increase from 2001. The
study determined that state businesses that benefited the most
from cruise line spending include: petroleum refining, air
transportation, port services, financial and insurance
services, waste removal and sanitary services, computer
equipment and consulting services, water separators, travel
consultants and commercial seating. The
study also revealed the following about jobs and wages: Jobs:
the cruise industry directly and indirectly generated the
employment of 7,061 Texas workers – a 34 percent increase
over 2001. Texas
ranked sixth in the study in job creation due to the
relatively high number of business services, wholesale and
retail trade, construction, financial services and health
services jobs that are created. Wages:
$292 million in total wages for Texas workers were generated
by the cruise industry in the state last year – a 41 percent
increase over 2001. The average annual wage income per job generated across the
state totaled $41,400. According
to the BREA analysis, the North American passenger cruise
industry affects virtually every state economy.
These economic benefits arise from several principal
sources: spending by cruise passengers and crew on goods and
services (travel between residence and the port, pre- and
post-cruise vacation spending); cruise line shore-side
staffing; spending by cruise lines on goods and services, port
services and vessel maintenance and repair. The
study found that, on the national level, cruise lines
contributed $20.4 billion to the U.S. economy in 2002 – a
nearly 10 percent growth from a year ago. “The
cruise industry was one of the bright spots in the U.S.
economy during 2002, particularly for the hard hit travel and
tourism sector,” said ICCL President J. Michael Crye.
“Our growth has ripple effects across the entire U.S.
economy. Cruise
line passengers spend money in port cities, our lines employ
thousands of American residents and the industry is a
significant purchaser of U.S. goods and services.” According
to the report the industry has continued to stimulate consumer
demand by deploying more ships in the North American market,
accelerating its move to shorter cruises and cruises that
originate in drive-to markets, and lowering fares.
These moves especially attracted first-time cruisers
and provided an opportunity to broaden the industry’s
penetration into the vacation market. “Growth
in the cruise sector in the Gulf Coast region has created
exciting new opportunities for the Port of Galveston,” added
Cernak. “The
Port has benefited from the homeporting of Carnival Cruise
Lines’ Celebration and
Jubilee for the last
several years and looks forward to the arrival of the
fantasy-class vessel Elation
in late September. Royal
Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas has sailed from Galveston Island since 2001 the
Splendour of the Seas
has offered seasonal sailings since the fall of 2002.
We have commitments from Princess Cruises and
Celebrity Cruises to add the Port of Galveston to their cruise
homeports next year.” The ICCL report notes that the growth at Galveston has exceeded the national growth rate.
"As a result of the phenomenal growth in this sector of the Port’s business, we are upgrading facilities and equipment at Cruise Terminal Number 1 in a public-private partnership with Carnival Cruise Lines; working with Royal Caribbean in a similar manner to expand our Cruise Terminal Number 2 facility; and port staff has started planning efforts for Terminal Number 3," Cernak said, stressing that increasing the number of new visitors to Galveston Island supports growth for the neighboring National Strand Historic District and for the city of Galveston.
"Our growing cruise operation should make the citizens of Galveston very proud,” concluded Cernak.
A
survey of Pasadena residents indicate they strongly approve of
the community's overall direction, and are looking for more of
the same in improvements to infrastructure, services,
and quality of life enhancements. "Pasadena's
participation in the National Research Center's 2003 National
Citizen Survey documents a position that city administrators
have been making for three years: residents feel major
improvements are overdue, and like what they see when it comes
to the direction the City is taking in changing its
course," said Mayor John Manlove. Compared to 2002, those surveyed see just about every area of Pasadena life taking a turn for the better, with respondent reply numbers increasing by about one-quarter from last year's tally of randomly selected households. "The survey indicates improvements in our citizens view of Pasadena as a place to live, a place to raise children, a place to retire, and for overall quality," Manlove continued. "On a scale of 1 to 100, Pasadena scored 68 for resident satisfaction with the city's overall direction, up from 63 the year before and better than more than 90 percent of comparable communities surveyed across the country." Survey respondents also gave Pasadena's local government higher scores than the prior year in delivering good value for taxpayer dollars and in openness to citizen input and involvement. University of Texas Medical Branch A
$50,000 grant from St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities to
the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will
enable the university to help strengthen the efforts of the
Matagorda Episcopal Hospital Outreach Program to care for
Matagorda County residents with diabetes. Telemedicine includes satellites or high-speed telephone
lines as well as video cameras that provide two-way
audio-video communication between the academic medical center
and clinics outfitted with the technology. The technology can
educate health care providers and help them treat patients
based on the observations and recommendations of UTMB
physicians. Stark Diabetes Center lectures, which will be
viewed on a television screen in the van, will supply the
health care professionals with information to help county
residents in medically underserved areas learn how to control
or prevent diabetes. These lectures will also train the health
care providers to more quickly recognize symptoms of the
disease in their patients. United States Representative Nick Lampson announced that he has scheduled his annual "Academy Day" on October 4 at the College of the Mainland Student Center. "Academy Day is a great way to bring prospective military academy nominees together with academy officials and members of my academy board," said Lampson. "Students interested in applying to a service academy are highly recommended to attend. Parents are also welcome and encouraged to attend." Representatives of all the Army, Navy and Air Force Academies will be on hand to answer questions, giving students the chance to discuss academy opportunities and the admissions process with officals. Members of Lampson's Academy Board, the group that picks nominees, will be on hand to answer questions. Active cadets from the academies will also be present. Questions regarding Academy Day should be directed to Shaun Hodge in Lampson's Galveston office at (409)762-5877. United
States Senator John Cornyn addressed the border terrorism
conference in “We must
bring our broken immigration system into the 21st Century. We
must move transient workers out of the shadows. We must ensure
the security of our borders,” Cornyn said. Cornyn
introduced the Border
Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2003 in July
to strengthen Homeland Security efforts at the borders and
address the needs of undocumented immigrants. The border
terrorism conference was hosted by Governor Rick Perry,
Attorney General Greg Abbott and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton.
The conference brought together federal, state and local
officials to address terrorism preparation needs including
detection, investigation and coordination. Cornyn
hosted a meeting with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Derbez,
Undersecretary for North American Affairs Geronimo Gutierrez
and The Guidry News Service Online News Station at www.guidrynews.com offers photos and recordings of meetings and other events. Major Vic Maceo, director of the Galveston Beach Patrol, reported on a successful season and made a presentation in support of his 2004 budget request at last week's meeting of the Park Board of Trustees Listen The City of Galveston, like other entities in Southeast Texas is nearing completion of its budget process. Last week the City of Galveston Finance and Fiscal Affairs Committee met at City Hall. Listen Brenda
Beust Smith, in her "Brenda's Garden" column this
week says that it is a good time to plant bulbs, vines, groundcovers, perennials, shrubs and
trees. Click
Here Scheduled
Meetings Today, September
8 Tuesday, September
9
Wednesday, September 10
Thursday, September 11 Friday, September
12
Saturday, September 13 |
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.
Guidry News Service has
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