Thursday              January 8, 2004

Galveston City Council 

Galveston City Council is holding a lengthy meeting this afternoon, with the appearance of people in favor of and opposed to paid parking on Seawall Boulevard lined up to speak on the issue.  They were still speaking at publication time and a resolution calling for an election on the issue had not been decided. 

Earlier, City Secretary Barbara Lawrence notified Greg Roof and Garrik Addision of Galvestonians Against Paid Parking on the Seawall that she cannot certify a petition calling for an election on a charter amendment that would require voter approval of a paid parking plan.  Letter 

Council Member Joe Jaworski, who proposed the resolution calling the election, talked to Chuck Lawrence about it.  Listen

A comprehensive report on the city council meeting, as well as photos and audio excerpts, will be published later tonight on The Online News Station at www.guidrynews.com 

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Houston City Hall

Houston Mayor Bill White today announced some appointments to senior positions in his administration.
 
Michael Moore, who managed White's campaign for mayor and who served on his staff at the United States Department of Energy, will become chief of staff.  His principal responsibilities will be communications and relations with the city council.  

Steve Tinnermon, who served as chief of staff in the prior
administration, will head an interdepartmental working group on improving blighted neighborhoods.
 
City Attorney Anthony Hall, who formerly chaired the METRO Board of Directors and is a former city council member and state representative, will assume the position of chief administrative officer.  His primary responsibilities will be implementation of some of the administration's significant priorities which cut across organizational lines and participation in the budget process and oversight of safety issues. 
 
Susan Taylor, a veteran city professional who currently is first assistant city attorney, will become acting city attorney.  White said that he intends to make a decision on the permanent city attorney by March 1.
 
Christina Cabral, who served as director for community affairs at the WEDGE Group, and previously served as protocol officer at the United States Department of Defense, will be the acting director of the Mayor's Office on Boards and Commissions and will advise the mayor on special projects.
 
Richard Lapin, an attorney and business executive who served as White's policy assistant during the campaign, will become deputy chief of staff for administration for the Mayor's Office, with responsibility for improving responsiveness to citizens, and various special projects.  Those projects include responsibilities for White's citizen's task force reviewing the city's convention, entertainment, and tourism functions and a citizen's task force on reform of the building permits process. 
  
Terence Fontaine, who was responsible for some pilot training programs at Continental Airlines, and who has also been a pilot and manager of airport operations, will become deputy chief of staff for operations.  Fontaine's primary responsibility will be to improve municipal operations.
 
Former city controller Judy Johnson, an accountant and veteran city employee, will become director of finance and administration.  She will replace current Finance and Administration Director Phil Scheps.  White commended  Scheps' "service to the city during difficult financial times." Scheps has expressed a willingness to serve in another
role to assist in the transition and deal with current budget challenges.
 
Rogene Gee Calvert, formerly chief of staff for City Council Member Gordon Quan, will become the mayor's acting director of personnel.  This is a new position with the function of recruitment and placement of senior personnel during the transition to a new administration.

Jose Soto, formerly agenda director for Council Member Alvarado and district administrator for State Representative Rick Noriega, will become deputy agenda director, working with Agenda Director Marty Stein.
 
David Saperstein, founder and former CEO of Metro Networks, will serve as chair of a newly-created Mayor's Office on Mobility.  Saperstein will not receive salary and will maintain his own office expense.  He will serve as a representative of the mayor for implementing the administration's initiatives for removing traffic bottlenecks which impede the flow of traffic and improving traffic management systems. 

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Texas City City Commission

The Texas City City Commission on Wednesday approved the purchase of three dump trucks through the Texas Association of School Boards.

The city commission voted to petition the Texas Department of Transportation to synchronize the traffic signals on Palmer Highway.

The city commission tabled action on the transfer of rights, obligations and liabilities in a contract with Kinsel Industries to Affholder, Inc.  A merger of the two companies, which was expected on December 31, did not take place.

The city commission tabled action on a rezoning request to facilitate construction of a convenience store.  Rashid Shakoor, the applicant, withdrew his request.

All other agenda items were approved.

The city commission met in executive session to discuss litigation involving Sara and Frank Skaggs and Skaggs Enterprise Inc. and litigation involving former police chief Robert Circle.

Mayor Carlos Garza announced that he has created a committee composed of Texas City commissioners Don Singleton and Matthew Doyle, Texas City Director of Human Resources Mary Jan Lantz, Texas City Director of Management Services Doug Hoover and La Marque Police Chief Richard Price to review almost 20 applications for the position of police chief.  The position is being advertised on the Texas Municipal League web site.  Click Here 

Garza said he will make the appointment based on the review of the committee.  His choice is subject to confirmation by the city commission.

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Port Arthur City Council

Port Arthur City Council on Tuesday voted to schedule a special election to elect a new council member to replace Tom Gillam, who has filed to run for Justice of the Peace Precinct 8.  The Texas Constitution requires that the election be held within 180 days from Gillam's announcement.  April 10 was designated by the city council; however, the city council then voted 7-1, with Felix Barker opposed, to seek a waiver to allow the special election to be held on May 15, along with other municipal elections.

The council voted 7-1, with Barker opposed to rehire Rueben Brown of B.W. Architects as a project manager for the new Iasis hospital project.  

The city council voted 6-2, with Barker and Mayor Oscar Ortiz opposed, to table the transfer of Bent Tree Village and Park Central Village to Bent Tree Village, LTD and Autumn Chase Park, LTD.

The city council unanimously voted to table confirmation of the appointment of Tom Kestranek as transit/equipment services manager by City Manager Frank Fitzgibbons. 

The city council voted unanimously to table the appointment of a regular director to the City of Port Arthur Section 4A Economic Development Corporation.

The city council unanimously voted to remove from the agenda a resolution appointing three members to the Port Arthur Municipal Non-Profit Corporation.

The city council voted 6-2, with John Beard and Gillam opposed, to extend the timetable for development of Mike's Shopping Plaza.

All other agenda items were approved.

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Clear Lake Shores City Council

Clarification: Clear Lake Shores City Council Tuesday night requested bids from surveyors and appraisers on 13 available waterfront leases that are owned by the city.

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Texas A&M University at Quatar

Texas A&M University at Galveston Vice President and CEO Michael Kemp, who has been named dean and CEO of the new branch campus of Texas A&M University in the State of Qatar, said that it will be only the second branch of the university and the first outside of Texas.  Listen

"They are establishing over there something called 'Education City,' and they are asking selected American Universities to come over and establish programs that are their strengths," Kemp explained.  "They are asking A&M to do engineering, they are asking Virginia Commonwealth to do fine arts, Cornell to do medicine, they are asking Carnegie Mellon to do business and they are negotiating with Georgetown to do political science and diplomacy."

Kemp said that his six and one-half years at the Galveston campus helped prepare him for the new assignment.

"I have had a wonderful time in Galveston," Kemp said.  "It has been an incredible learning experience for me."

Bill Hearn will serve as interim CEO while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement for Kemp.

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United States Congress

United States Representative Nick Lampson joined his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Commerce Don Evans asking for the DOC to impose antidumping sanctions on shrimp imported from six countries in an attempt to curb the "devastating effects" of foreign shrimp on the U.S. domestic shrimp market. 

"Shrimping is an important part of both the economics and culture of Southeast Texas," Lampson said.  "It is an industry that needs to remain viable, and the only way to do that is to make sure that the U.S. shrimp industry is protected from unfair trade laws." 

Lampson said the letter calls on Evans to ensure that adequate protections for our domestic shrimp industry are instituted.

"Last week, representatives from the U.S. shrimp industry petitioned the Department of Commerce and the International Trading Commission to restore the conditions of fair trade in shrimp by imposing antidumping duties on shrimp imported from six foreign nations," he added.  "My colleagues and I wanted to send the message that we support their petition." 

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Galveston College

Registration for the 2004 Spring Semester at Galveston College is underway.  Registration today continues until 7:00 p.m. On Friday, registration is 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.  On Monday the hours are 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., and Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.  Registration is in the College’s Counseling Center at 4015 Avenue Q.  

Counseling Center hours are 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.  Classes begin Monday, January 12, 2004.

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Clear Creek Independent School District

Parents in the Clear Creek Independent School District are invited to learn more about summer scholarship opportunities through the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented in a meeting from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. January 12 at the Webster Intermediate School Auditorium located at 400 Walnut in Webster. 

The program is being hosted by C.A.S.E. for Gifted Children in conjunction with the CCISD Gifted and Talented Office.

A complete listing of summer learning programs is available on the C.A.S.E. web site at www.casegiftedchildren.org. For additional information, contact Debi Taylor at (281) 316-5796 or dktaylor@ccisd.net.

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Gulf Coast E-news

Several subscribers reported that they did not receive Wednesday's edition of Gulf Coast E-news and several others said they received numerous issues.  

If you did not receive the newsletter to request that it be re-sent. Click Here

Scheduled Meetings
Meetings will be held in the regular meeting place of the city council or other governmental body, unless otherwise specified.

Today, January 8
5:30 Democratic Candidates Drawing for Ballot Position, Galveston County Courthouse Jury Assembly Room
7:00 Santa Fe City Council
7:00 Kemah City Council
8:00 "A Tuna Christmas," The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston 

Friday, January 9
8:00 "A Tuna Christmas," The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston

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Gulf Coast E-news, published by Guidry News Service, provides comprehensive coverage of posted public meetings in Galveston, Harris and Jefferson Counties as well as regional news impacting the Upper Texas Gulf Coast.

Chuck Lawrence is Galveston City Correspondent.  Dedra Black covers northern Galveston County and southern Harris County.  Carl Guidry covers Jefferson County.

Robert John Mihovil is a special photographic correspondent for Guidry News Service

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.