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2003 Archives

Tuesday              February 10, 2004

Mardi Gras Galveston! 2004

The City of Galveston Park Board of Trustees invited reporters from Houston and Galveston to a news conference at the Roof Garden on The Strand to announce plans for this year's celebration that begins this weekend.

"We are excited about the 20th anniversary Mardi Gras that is getting ready to occur in Galveston," said Gil Langley, president and CEO of the park board.  "Mardi Gras is a tremendous event for the island and for everyone in the greater Houston area and our tourists to come down and escape and explore Galveston Island." 

Langley notes that the festival costs about $1.8 million to produce, "And it's all done without taxpayer dollars."

He thanked the various Mardi Gras krewes and the corporate sponsors for their support of the event.

Among the corporate sponsors that attended the news conference was Patty Welborn of BFI.

"Of all the events that BFI Waste Services sponsors throughout the Houston, Beaumont and Galveston area, this is one of our favorites," Welborn said.

Park Board Chair Gerry Del Prete, who also chairs the park board Mardi Gras/Special Events Committee, had the only negative comments at the news conference, noting that the event is being managed to cost less money in the future.

"Last year was the first year that the park board took the event over from the City of Galveston," Del Prete noted.  "In 2002, the City of Galveston had close to a $300,000 deficit; and as it turned out last year, we had a $300,000 deficit.  So, in my opinion, we are $300,000 short of making this event successful."

Captain Phillip Morris of the Galveston Police Department said 350 officers will be on duty this weekend and 475 will be on duty during the final weekend of Mardi Gras.

For a description of activities and a schedule of events, visit http://www.mardigrasgalveston.com 

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Galveston Charter Review Committee

The Galveston Charter Review Committee will present a list of proposed amendments to the City Charter to the city council on Thursday, with a recommendation that the amendments be presented to the voters in the May 15 municipal election.  Listen

The proposed amendments include election of the mayor and council members by majority vote, rather than plurality; removal of the prohibition of privatization of sanitation services in the downtown area; requiring that deficits created by emergency appropriations be paid off within 36 months; emergency loans must be paid off within 36 months; excluding revenue from grants and loans from the seven percent spending cap in any budget year; deleting the requirement that the Planning Commission submit a capital improvements plan to the city council and that the commission be appropriated funds to contract with city planners and consultants; and providing that the city may only withhold disclosure of records and accounts in accordance with state law.  The list also includes an amendment to regulate transfers between enterprise funds and the general fund.

The committee also will submit a minority report drafted by Eddie Walsh that calls for an amendment to remove bonded indebtedness from the tax cap.  

"After serious discussion by the committee, this proposal was initially voted on with seven members in favor and four opposed, with two absent and not voting," Walsh noted.  "As such it failed because it did not receive the required eight votes even though a majority of those present were in favor of the motion."

Unless the city council has additional assignments for the committee, Monday's meeting was the final session.  Members of the committee spoke favorably of the assistance provided by city staff and noted that the group got along very well.

Ruth Kempner, the senior member of the charter committee, had praise for Chair Steve Greenberg.

"I don't know how many other charter committees that I've been on, and there have been some very interesting times, in which we have needed the presence of police and didn't have it; but this has been the most pleasant," Kempner said giving credit to Greenberg.  "He has done his homework and knows what he is talking about and has not pursued his own interests to the detriment of some of the others."

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La Marque City Council

La Marque City Council received recommendations from the Charter Review Committee and agreed to hold a workshop on the proposed charter changes, including several "housekeeping amendments" to make the Charter consistent with state law, on February 23.

The city council approved a new collective bargaining agreement with firefighters, which includes eight percent pay raises annually through 2005.

The city council discussed a proposal to hire a consultant in selection of a location for a new fire station and improvements in the city's ISO rating, and agreed to discuss the issue further before taking action.

All other agenda items were approved.

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Nassau Bay City Council

Nassau Bay City Council voted to accept a $65,000 contribution from the Nassau Bay Economic Development  Corporation to support the city's 2004 Dredging Capital Projects.  

The city council named Mayor Pro Tem Don Matter as its representative on the Clear Creek Watershed Steering Committee; and named City Manager John Kennedy as the alternate representative.

The city council amended a new schedule of fees for emergency medical services.

The city council approved the replat of property at 18802 Point Lookout Drive and other adjacent properties in the Nassau Ranch Subdivision, as recommended by the Planning Commission.

All other agenda items were approved.  All votes were 5-0.

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Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission

The Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission and the Housing Authority of the City of Beaumont sponsored the 2004 Economic Development and Housing Initiatives Conference on Monday at the Holiday Inn-Beaumont Plaza.

Sour Lake Council Member Susie Simmons welcomed the public officials and others to the program.

"Today's theme 'traveling in new directions through successful partnerships,' is quite apt," Simmons said.  "We see that affordable housing and economic development are integrally linked and are essential to the future of our smaller communities."

"Conferences like these can be immensely important because they help to make sure that the needed services are delivered to those who need them," said Beaumont Mayor Evelyn Lord.  "Partnerships that have already been formed can be strengthened and perhaps new ones can be developed."  

"The first thing I would like to do is congratulate HUD, the housing authority and the City of Beaumont for getting local control of the housing authority back on track," said Tom Combs, chief of staff for Congressman Nick Lampson, and a former member of Beaumont City Council. "Not that HUD isn't a great bunch of guys, but we would rather have their money than their day to day companionship."

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College of the Mainland

The Triathlon Academy will be conducting a one-day Triathlon Academy Workshop on Saturday, February 21st from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at College of the Mainland Gymnasium, P112 and the Pool.  This workshop will be oriented toward the beginner to intermediate multi-sports athletes. Some topics will include swimming, cycling and running techniques as well as conditioning strategies and how to get through a transition quickly. 

The fee is $145 per person.  To register online visit www.triathlonacademy.com or call (888) 288-0503 for more information.

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Galveston Independent School District

Galveston Independent School District's Accelerated Instruction Model or AIM program has extended its hours from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  The extended program, called "AIM Late," will allow Ball High School students to work on courses that they could not manage in their daily schedule at Ball High School.

AIM, which opened in August 2003, has graduated 34 students from Ball High School since its inception.  An additional 90 students are currently enrolled and are working to complete their high school diploma.  The program is tailored to students who are committed to completing their education but who require a more flexible schedule for meeting that goal.  

"We have already seen the success of AIM and now we can reach out to even more students through AIM Late and GOAL," said GISD Superintendent Lynn Hale.  "Students are often turned away from potential employment or a military career because they lack a high school diploma.  These programs fill that need." 

Applications are available through the Ball High School Counselors' Office or at the AIM office at 3906 Avenue T in Galveston.  For more information, call (409) 766-5167. 

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Clear Creek Independent School District

McWhirter Elementary School in the Clear Creek Independent School District is hosting a series of meetings for the Estrellas Two-Way Immersion Education program. The program is for kindergarten students with strong English verbal skills who would also like to become fluent in Spanish.

Offered through the Professional Development Laboratory School at McWhirter, two-way immersion has both Spanish and English speaking students share a classroom and receive instruction in both languages.

For additional information call Parent Outreach Coordinator Tacy King (281) 332-0521, or send an email to tking@ccisd.net.

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University of Texas Medical Branch

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine will co-host "Pushing the Envelope: Medicine in Challenging Environments," a conference featuring dozens of speeches, presentations and displays, between February 16 and February 20. 

Many attendees will be Army doctors who have deployed recently to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The conference will feature a display of a U.S. Army UH-1 Huey aeromedical evacuation helicopter and a spatial disorientation flight simulator used to train pilots and flight surgeons. For a schedule of events and locations, visit www.utmb.edu/pte.

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United States Congress

United States Representative Nick Lampson sent a letter today to Federal Emergency Management Agency Undersecretary Michael Brown requesting that FEMA release flood information early, so that Harris County residents would have access to high tech flood plain maps. 

"This information was supposed to come out last year, and it is now scheduled to come out in the spring," Lampson said.  "These maps will affect large numbers of Harris County residents who may be future flood victims.  I want the citizens of Harris County to have access to this information as soon as possible."

Lampson noted that FEMA has partnered with the Harris County Flood Control District, the City of Houston and other local entities in developing new, and highly accurate flood plain maps for the entire County.  The Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project uses state of the art technology for flood plain analysis,
such as the modern ground elevation sensor technology LIDAR.

"The new digital maps will not only represent a technological leap in accuracy and detail, but will also greatly enhance accessibility by the public," Lampson said.  "With recent flooding disasters still a powerful memory, it is understandable that the families, business owners and communities leaders of Harris County are anxiously awaiting the new flood plain maps."

Lampson is requesting that FEMA and HCFCD make available those sections of the new flooding maps that are ready, even if that is before completion of the entire project.  Further, he is also requesting that the public should have access to background information as these map sections are released.

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Houston Traffic

On February 13, the Texas Department of Transportation will begin its reconstruction project on Spur 527, which connects the northbound lanes of U.S. 59 South to Midtown and Downtown-area streets. 

The closure will require METRO to detour several of its morning inbound routes currently using the Southwest Freeway, but outbound afternoon/evening trips will remain on their current routes.  

For more information, call METROLine at (713) 635-4000 or visit www.ridemetro.org. 

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

Today, February 10
5:00 - 7:30 Region II Advisory Committee, Galveston County Courthouse Annex, 174 Calder, League City
5:00 Carbide Park Ribbon Cutting 
5:30 Friendswood Independent School District Board of Trustees
6:30 League City City Council
7:00 Dickinson City Council
7:00 Morgan's Point City Council
7:00 Hitchcock Independent School District Board of Trustees
7:30 Friendswood Independent School District Board of Trustees

Wednesday, February 11
8:00 Galveston Families Children and Youth Board Renaissance Zone 1000 Cottage Task Force, Galveston Historical Foundation, 502 20th
8:15 Texas Coastal Issues Conference, Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center, 402 Harbor Drive, Corpus Christi  
9:00 Houston City Council
10:00 Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District Board of Directors
12:00 Rotary Club of Galveston, Brothers Petronella Top Gallant Room. The program is Valentines with Jimmy Kessler
7:00 Clear Creek Independent School District Special Meeting and Team Building Workshop

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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.