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2003 Archives

Thursday              January 29, 2004

Galveston Island Pachyderm Club

Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc was the featured speaker at today's meeting of the Galveston Island Pachyderm Club.  Although municipal elections in Texas are non-partisan, LeBlanc asked the members of the Republican club members to question candidates for the city council on their support for his administration.

"I believe that I will be an issue in the coming election," LeBlanc said.

Mayor Roger Quiroga and Council Member Johnny Smecca, as well as several candidates for the city council, were in the audience.

LeBlanc noted that Galveston is an old city with an old infrastructure, and a low median income.

"Let's face it, we are a poor community."

LeBlanc said Galveston is a difficult city to manage because of "incestual" infighting.

"I've never known a place where we argue about everything," LeBlanc said, noting that it has been difficult to hire good department heads because of the reputation for infighting that the city has developed.

He said that his acting public safety chiefs are doing a good job, but he wants to determine whether they will put the interests of the city ahead of the demands of their unions before he elevates Michael Verela to the position of fire chief and Kenny Mack to the position of police chief.

LeBlanc noted that he has raised $250,000 through the "voluntary" $3 contribution to EMS on the city's water bills; and he chastised those who do not pay it.

"If you deduct it, then shame on you," LeBlanc said.

Next week, four candidates for mayor of Galveston have been invited to speak to the Pachyderm Club.

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Photos and Audio

Galveston City Council

Galveston City Council scheduled a special meeting that began at 2 p.m. today to consider three issues related to paid parking on Seawall Boulevard and two issues related to cruise terminal projects, which were approved by the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves on Monday.

By publication time at 4 p.m. the city council had approved the two port-related items, but was still hearing from the public concerning Seawall parking; and no action had been taken on those items.

A comprehensive report of the city council meeting and a recording of the meeting will be posted on The Online News Station at www.guidrynews.com. 

Houston City Council

Houston City Council on Wednesday confirmed Mayor Bill White's appointment of Judy Gray Johnson as director of the Department of Finance and Administration.

The city council voted to designate five areas where residential parking permits are required in the "super neighborhoods" of University Place, Midtown and Neartown-Montrose.

Several items were tagged, or delayed for one week, by individual members of the city council.

A proposal to reimburse the cost of school crossing guards in Alief Independent School District, Annunciation Orthodox School District, Fort Bend ISD, Galena Park ISD, Houston ISD, Katy ISD, North Forest ISD, Pasadena ISD, Spring Branch ISD, St. John's School, St. Vincent De Paul School, Aldine ISD and Clear Creek ISD was tagged by Ada Edwards.

A proposed amendment to the city's contract with Hoist & Crane Service Group for repair, inspection and preventive services for cranes and overhead hoists in various departments was tagged by Ronald Green.

A $5,773.75 developer participation contract with Greater Investment Builders, Inc. for construction of water lines to serve development on Kilgore Street was tagged by Edwards.

Appointment of an appraiser for the former Memorial West Water District Plant site was delayed for one week on a motion by Pam Holm.

A proposed amendment to the airport advertising concession agreement at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport with JCDecaux Airport, Inc. was delayed for one week on a motion by Carol Alvarado.

A proposed resolution approving the action of the City of Houston Health Facilities Development Corporation regarding its Retirement Facility Revenue Bonds was delayed for one week on a motion by Holm.

An ordinance to appropriate $7,192.50 for a developer participation contract with Agnar Neilsen for construction of sanitary sewer lines on Colquitt Avenue was not received during the meeting and will be considered at a future meeting.

All other agenda items were approved.

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Work on a portion of the Environmental Protection Agency's designated Tex Tin Superfund Site had another step completed when the contractor finished work on the construction of breakwaters designed to halt erosion along the Galveston Bay side of the former smelter site. 

The area, officially called Operable Unit No. 4, now holds a four-segment quarry rock breakwater nearly 6,000 feet long.  Only one segment touches land, the other three segments are staggered to allow circulation of salt water into the area that will soon hold a 90 acre marsh according to plans laid out by Texas Parks and Wildlife. 

The proposed marsh, in part, will be built from excess material dredged from the Shoal Point container terminal construction.  Lead agency on the marsh construction will be the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees. 

The breakwaters are located just east of the shell islands that form the eastern boundary of Swan Lake.  The northern three breakwaters extend in a single file, north to south, from an existing breakwater located on the northeast side of Swan Lake.  The fourth breakwater, located south of these three, runs northeast to southwest and onto the land. 

The tops of the stone structures are about 3.5 feet above the waterline and are about 5 feet wide at the crown.   

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, was charged by EPA with the project design and construction oversight.  Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel, Pine Bluff, Arkansas was chosen as contractor for the work on the more than $2 million job.  Original estimate for the construction work was close to $3 million. 

Thirty-four barge loads of rock were required to complete the stone breakwaters, coming via water from Arkansas to the site in 6-barge tows. 

The Tex Tin smelter, located in the cities of La Marque and Texas City, Texas near the intersection of FM 519 and State Highway 146, was built by the government as a World War II emergency tin supply plant and operated until a government contract from 1941 to 1956 as the Tin Processing Corp.  The facility sold to private industry in 1957 and was operated by a succession of companies until it ceased operation in 1991. On June 17, 1996, EPA proposed the site as a superfund site. 

The superfund site contains four operable units. No. 1, contains about 140 acres  and is the former tin and copper smelting facility and includes four of the holding ponds to the south of the smelting facility.  OU No. 2 contains 27 acres of the former smelter property that is owned by BP Amoco Corporation.  OU No. 3 represents the La Marque residential areas northwest from the smelter facility.  OU No. 4 is comprised of the Swan Lake ecosystem located between the hurricane levee and the shell barrier islands separating Swan Lake from Galveston Bay. 

Personnel from the Corps, EPA Region 6, Tin Tex Settling Defendants, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Texas Government Land Office, and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration toured the completed project by boat on January 27.

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Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority

METRO’s Property Services Division is conducting a series of online public auctions through March 31 to sell a number of surplus inventory items using the e-Surplus Auctions Web site. These online auctions feature various surplus items, such as buses, support vehicles, computer equipment, office furnishings and other miscellaneous equipment available for sale.  

Registration is free, and prospective buyers may place their bids at http://esurplusauction.com/IANAuction/tx/ridemetro, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Public viewing of auctioned items will be conducted every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. by appointment only.  Auction items are located at METRO’s Central Stores, 1220 McCarty Street, or at the Field Service Center parking lot near 1215 Labco Street. 

Bid prices may start as low as $750 for support vehicles; $500 for buses; $100 for lots of CPUs and lots of monitors; $75 for printers; $40 for CPU/monitor combos; $10 for office furnishings; and $1 for miscellaneous items.

To schedule an appointment or to view auction items, call (713) 615-6126 or (713) 615-6176. 

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San Jacinto College

The San Jacinto College Central theatre department is seeking children of all ages for its upcoming production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

All children auditions begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, February 5, at Slocomb Auditorium on the Central Campus, 8060 Spencer Highway, Pasadena.  Children need not have anything prepared in advance. Adult casting has been set and rehearsals are in its second week.

For additional information call Dr. Jerry Ivins, Central Campus drama department chair, at (281) 542-2039 or email jerry.ivins@sjcd.edu.

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University of Texas Medical Branch

Two faculty members in the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences have been appointed to endowed professorships in recognition of their exemplary teaching.

Drs. Billy U. Philips Jr. and John Papaconstantinou were awarded the Dr. Leon Bromberg Professorship for Excellence in Teaching and the Mary and J. Palmer Saunders Professorship for Excellence in Teaching, respectively. Professorships and other endowments are permanently invested funds that support the research, educational or clinical interests of those appointed to the positions.

Dr. Cary W. Cooper, dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, said the professorships are well-deserved honors for Philips and Papaconstantinou. 

“These are two of our most outstanding teachers,” Cooper said. “Both are longstanding UTMB faculty members and are highly deserving of this recognition. Dr. Philips’ nomination was strongly supported by graduate students who cited the excellence he brings to the classroom. Dr. Papaconstantinou has supervised a large number of our Ph.D. graduates who have gone on to highly successful careers in biomedical science and who remember him fondly for his close mentorship.”

Philips, professor and director of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in UTMB’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, teaches graduate and medical students and physician residents about the causes of disease, as well as cancer prevention and control. 

“I’m extremely honored to receive the Bromberg professorship,” said Philips, who directs the department’s graduate programs. “Teaching truly is a calling, and I’m flattered my peers on the faculty awards committee have selected me for this accolade in education. I hope to use this opportunity to encourage some of our senior graduate students to hone their own teaching skills and to learn more about Dr. Bromberg.”

Papaconstantinou is a principal investigator and professor in the Department of Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics. He garnered the Saunders professorship for his work in training graduate students in his laboratory, mentoring postdoctoral fellows and developing courses at UTMB. 

“I am proud and honored to have been chosen for this prestigious award,” he said. “In the past 40 years, I mentored many students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to excellent careers. Recognition of this achievement by the Saunders professorship is also recognition of my students’ achievements, and I will continue to strive for excellence in teaching. This award also has special meaning for me because I have known and befriended Dr. Saunders since 1979 when I first arrived at UTMB.”

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Galveston Independent School District

Texas Gas Service, a division of ONEOK, Inc., recently
made a $1,000 donation to the Galveston ISD Educational Foundation. Photo

During the 2003-2004 school year, the foundation awarded more than $34,000 in grants through the School Site Grant and Grants-To-Teachers programs.  The foundation is also assisting the district in raising funds for Advanced Placement Strategies and Girls and Boys Town Behavioral Model. 

For more information on making a donation to the foundation, call 409-766-5144 or e-mail foundation@gisd.org. 

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The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake

A balloon release in memory of the Challenger and Columbia crews is scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday, February 1, 2004, in front of The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, directly across from Johnson Space Center, 2000 NASA Road.  The public is invited to attend.

The event is a part of the final day of the series of events, “Super Play By The Bay,” presented by the Mike Flory Group.  Also on Sunday, their will be a VIP Super Party at MARKER 1 Marina beginning at 4 pm.

For more information call (281) 338-0333 or visit www.visitbayareahouston.com.

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Galveston Politics

Dr. Jackie Cole has announced her candidacy for Galveston City Council District 6.  Release 

Rotary Club of Galveston

The Rotary Club of Galveston heard classification talks by member bankers at this week's regular meeting. Photos and Audio

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

Today, January 29
6:30 Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce 34th Annual Membership Banquet and Reception, Charles T. Doyle Convention Center Texas Heroes Room 
7:00 Hitchcock Independent School District Board of Trustees Special Meeting

Friday, January 30
12:00 Galveston Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 12 Board of Directors, City Hall Room 204
7:30 "The Oak Ridge Boys," The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
8:00 Agatha Christie's "Black Coffee," Clear Creek Country Theatre, 18091 Upper Bay Road in Nassau Bay, across from the Johnson Space Center. 

Saturday, January 31
10:00 La Marque Independent School District State Championship Victory Parade
11:00 - 3:00 Kemah Block Party
1:00 Hitchcock Independent School District Board of Trustees Facilities Tour and Workshop
7:30 "The Oak Ridge Boys," The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
8:00 Agatha Christie's "Black Coffee," Clear Creek Country Theatre, 18091 Upper Bay Road in Nassau Bay, across from the Johnson Space Center. 

Sunday, February 1
2:30 Agatha Christie's "Black Coffee," Clear Creek Country Theatre, 18091 Upper Bay Road in Nassau Bay, across from the Johnson Space Center.

Monday, February 2
9:00 Galveston County Commissioners Court
1:30 Jefferson County Commissioners Court
5:00 Friendswood City Council Worksession
6:30 Dickinson Independent School District Board of Trustees
7:00 Friendswood City Council Regular Meeting

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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.  Carl Guidry covers events in 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.