Archives

2003 Archives

Tuesday              February 24, 2004

Kemah Mayor William King vs. John C. Scott

Kemah Mayor William King has filed a lawsuit against Water Control and Improvement District 12 Board President John Scott.  Listen

"We have a history in the Kemah/Clear Lake Shores area of anonymous mailers being sent around at election time," King said.  "They almost always contain very salacious, outrageous accusations and; in this particular case, we had some before the election and they continued after the election for some period of time."

King said he has determined through comparison of the mailers and emails to the news media, including Guidry News Service, that Scott is responsible.  

"The lawsuit that I filed today has nothing to do with the water board; it is purely against John Scott personally for punitive damages that are provided in the statute," King said.  "He spent money in a campaign illegally."

King said persons who spend more than $100 in a campaign must file a report on the money that has been spent.

"Obviously these two mailers that were sent out cost a lot more than $100," King noted.  "Mr. Scott should have reported that as a campaign expenditure, which he did not do."

King also continues to pursue copies of communications between the water board and its attorneys related to fees that Bernard McIntyre received as a board member while also serving as a professor at the University of Houston.  

The water board has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday night to discuss the open records request, which King discussed in an email message to his constituents.

"What gripes me the most about this is that we are going to pay these guys $750 to have a meeting to discuss how they can hide our records from us," King said.  "By the way, directors fees and expenses for the last five years now total over $100,000!"  

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Hitchcock City Commission

Hitchcock City Commission voted to take no action Monday night on Mayor Lee Sander's proposal to eliminate the position of police chief.

"I think we need to have a police chief," said Commissioner Henry Coger, who made the motion to take no action.  "What we did though was assign additional patrol duties."

Coger said putting the chief on the street will relieve the need to hire another patrol officer, thus saving the city money.

The city commission approved an amendment in the city's sick leave policy to permit health employees to contribute unused sick time to an employee who has cancer and has used up all of his sick time.

The city commission approved a request by Shelton and Patsy Skains to place a recreational vehicle at 7660 Blimp Base Boulevard while they build a home at that location.

All other action items on the agenda were approved.

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La Marque City Council

La Marque City Council on Monday voted to accept the donation of a brush truck to the La Marque Fire Department by the Hitchcock Fire Department.

The city council recognized Luis Gonzales of the Fire Department as Employee of the Year.  Charlie Rogers of the Judicial Department and John Plasek of the Police Department were recognized as runners up.

State Representative Larry Taylor made a presentation to the city council in recognition of the city's 50th Anniversary.

A special meeting that was scheduled prior to the regular meeting, to consider calling an election on proposed amendments to the City Charter on May 15, was not held because of a posting problem.

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Beaumont City Council

Beaumont City Council today approved a contract with Beaumont Products and Services, Inc. to furnish litter removal services on arterial street rights-of-way and other specific areas.  

"Beaumont Products and Services, Inc. is defined as a private not-for-profit state certified workshop," said City Manager Kyle Hayes.  "State certified workshops encourage and assist disabled persons to achieve maximum personal independence by engaging in useful and productive activities."

The city council agreed to pay $11.85 per person on the project.  BPS will provide a crew of four collection personnel and one supervisor/driver five days per week, excluding city holidays.

The city council granted a license to encroach to Mary O'Neill for a pool that encroaches onto the utility easement at 1405 Mimosa Lane.

"A covered fiberglass and screened-in swimming pool is encroaching 7.5 feet into the city's ten foot utility easement for a distance of approximately 33 feet," said City Engineer Joris Colbert.  

All other agenda items were approved.

The city council met in executive session to discuss the claims of Mary Guillory and Corey Young; and litigation styled Delmon R. Jones vs. Beaumont Independent School District, et al.

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Shoreacres City Council

Shoreacres City Council Monday night officially called an election on May 15 for three positions on the city council.  The terms of Mayor Nancy Edmonson and aldermen Stan Krauhs and Jayo Washington are up for election.

Representatives of the Clear Lake Emergency Medical Corps discussed ambulance services with the city council.

The city council approved a resolution recognizing the regional importance of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Wing at Ellington Field.

The city council tabled approval of the minutes of the January 30 meeting.

All other agenda items were approved.

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Houston City Council

Houston Mayor Bill White honored outgoing METRO Board Chairman Arthur Louis Schechter at this afternoon's meeting of Houston City Council.  

White presented Schechter a proclamation declaring today “Arthur Louis Schechter Day in honor of his many contributions to the community."

White also announced today that he will serve as parade marshal for Houston's Northside Village Community "March on Crime/Lucha Contra Crimen" Parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday March 6.

Boxing Champion Rocky Juarez and students from more than 20 schools also plan to participate in the parade, which is designed to make the citizens more aware of crime prevention programs in their communities.

For additional information contact Parade Coordinator Mike Martinez at (713) 308-9116.

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College of the Mainland

The College of the Mainland Board of Trustees unanimously approved a tax freeze for senior and disabled citizens at Monday's regular meeting.

The tax limitation, first approved by the COM Finance Committee chaired by Bennie Matthews, will freeze the taxes of senior and disabled citizens at the 2004 rate, which will be determined in September.

The measure also was endorsed by COM President Butch Hayes.  

The board also approved a payment schedule for the settlement with BP resolving the recent litigation over tax values.

The board voted to terminate its agreement with Mainland Youth at Risk.

All other agenda items were approved.

New leadership classes begin today at the College of the Mainland Learning Center in League City. The program features both four-hour and eight-hour modules leading to a full certificate program, a mini certificate program or stand alone certification. 

Module topics include Leadership in the 21st Century, Understanding Personal Style, People Skills, Selection – More than a GUT Feeling, Staying Legal, Performance Management, Progressive Discipline, Continuous Improvement, Change Leadership, Do We Need to be a Group or a Team?, Problem Solving, Meeting Skills, Time Management for Success, and Contracts and Unions.  

All classes are daytime and run weekly through April 13, 2004 Call the Continuing Education Department at College of the Mainland at (409) 938-1211 or (888) 258-8859, extension 406 or 146.

Other courses offered by COM League City Learning Center include Workshop Skills for Frontline Workers, Salsa Class, One-Day Word and Excel Classes, Learn How to Start a Business, QuickBooks Introduction, Skills Upgrade Classes for Craft Workers, and Small Engine Repair.

The College of the Mainland Strategic Enrollment Management Resource Center is sponsoring a series of free workshops open to the community including topics such as Parenting, Financial Management, Stress Management and others.

For more information or for a complete listing of workshops offered, contact COM’s Resource Center at (409) 938-1211, ext. 195 or 660 or (888) 258-8859, extension 195 or 660.

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Port of Houston Authority

The Port of Houston Authority Commission on Monday approved a recommendation to evaluate and rank competitive sealed proposals and authorize negotiation of a construction contract for C1-C4 Return Road and the Barbours Cut Container Terminal. 

Infrastructure Services, Inc. received the top ranking followed by Texas Sterling Construction Co., L.L.P. and Forde Construction Co., Inc., respectively, for the estimated 2.3 million to $2.9 million contract. 

The commission approved a recommendation to authorize PHA to advertise and receive competitive sealed proposals for installation of a sound wall for Phase 1 development of the entry/exit pre-check and inspection facilities at Barbours Cut.  PHA will receive and review CSPs from all qualified vendors interested in being considered for a contract award ranging between $900,000 and $1.4 million for the installation of a wall that will help reduce noise impacts on the neighborhood located south of the new facility. 

The commission approved a recommendation to award a one-year contract to West Gulf Maritime Association for payroll services, safety training and other related services for International Longshoremen’s Association workers at PHA.  WGMA will provide payroll processing services at an estimated cost of $3,000 per month based on charges of 25 cents per line item plus the PHA’s pro-rata share of other payroll associated costs.  

The commission approved several other items, including a recommendation to amend the contract with Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. involving program management for Phase 1 of the Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal Complex; a recommendation to authorize the reallocation of funds to Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. for additional construction phase services for building renovation work on PHA’s Emergency Command Center; a recommendation to award a five-year, estimated $750,000 contract to Cleanup Oversight Partners for environmental and professional engineering services related to project oversight of remediation activities along Haden Road; a recommendation to accept the highest and best bid submitted by G. B. Biosciences Corporation to purchase approximately 114 acres of land that PHA has declared as surplus. 

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Galveston Independent School District

The Galveston Independent School District will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Crenshaw Elementary & Middle School on Monday, March 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the site of the new school located at 416 Highway 87 at Helen Blvd. in Crystal Beach. A dinner celebration is scheduled immediately following the ceremony at the current campus located at 921 Madison Avenue. GISD is building the new school through funds approved by voters in a December 2003 School Bond Election.

The new school will accommodate up to 350 students in the common areas and is centrally located between Port Bolivar and Crystal Beach. The new K-8 school is located on a 31-acre site. The school includes a full-sized gym, library and cafetorium with a stage. The gym and cafetorium will be made available for community use. The school features state-of-the-art science and computer labs, an outdoor learning center, covered parent drop-off/pick-up and parking, tennis courts and physical education/sports practice fields.

For more information, contact Bolivar School at (409) 684-8526.

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United States Senate

United States Senator John Cornyn, chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution, applauded President Bush’s announcement today that he will support an amendment to the United States Constitution defining marriage.

“Judicial activism has made the defense of marriage a national issue that can only be addressed at the national level," Cornyn said.  "Defense of marriage is no longer an abstract issue, no longer an issue that can be addressed merely with campaign platitudes. The right of the people, not the courts, to decide what is best for families, must be addressed and defended."

Cornyn said that in September he chaired a hearing to examine whether the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act is in peril. 

"Now we’ve seen that marriage is indeed being in peril and we must let the voters decide its future, not judicial activists," he said.  “For that reason, I’m holding a hearing next week to discuss the national effect of the recent decision by the Massachusetts court and the judicial invalidation of traditional marriage laws."

Cornyn has scheduled a hearing on marriage and judicial activism for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 3 in the Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room 226.

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University of Texas Medical Branch

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has been selected by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to participate in The Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network with four other medical centers and one data coordinating center.  The grant, which totals nearly $3 million nationwide, will fund a five-year study to determine the scope and causes of stillbirth in the United States.

Dr. George Saade, principal investigator at the UTMB site, said that because criteria and practices for reporting stillbirths vary nationwide, the real scope of the problem is not known.  Through this study, researchers plan to change that by gathering information on fetal deaths as they happen.  The initial phase will be limited to residents of Galveston and Brazoria Counties in order to obtain a geographically-based sample.

Saade said that the goal is to work with area specialists, including grief counselors and obstetricians, to establish a network to track and report stillbirths.  

Jennifer Lee Rollins, UTMB Genetic Counselor and Clinical Research Coordinator, said that this will be an excellent opportunity to collaborate with community hospitals that care for families and patients who have experienced stillbirth. 

“Together, we hope to help more families find the reason for their loss," Rollins said.

“Stillbirth is a major obstetrical problem that remains understudied relative to other pregnancy complications,” Saade added. “This effort should pave the way for future research to, hopefully, prevent this devastating problem.”

The five other institutions participating in the study are Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island at Providence, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University of Utah at Salt Lake City, Emory University in Atlanta, and the Research Triangle Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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San Jacinto Neighborhood Association

The San Jacinto Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a candidate forum, 7:00 p.m. , Wednesday, March 10 at Gulf Breeze, 1211 21^st Street in Galveston . 

"We have invited all the mayoral candidates and city council candidates for Districts 1, 2 and 3 to answer questions," said Brenda Donaloio, president of SJNA.

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On the Webio

Pat Patton interviewed State Senator Mike Jackson, Representative John Davis and Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President Jim Reinhartsen for this week's column on The Online News Station.  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, February 24
4:00 Galveston Planning Commission Special Meeting on Beach Access Plan, Council Chambers
5:30 Bay Area Transportation Partnership Reception for Gary Trietsch, Space Center Houston 
6:00 Clear Creek Independent School District, Brookside Intermediate School, 3535 East Parkwood, Friendswood
6:30 League of Women Voters of the Galveston Area Candidates Forum, Nessler Center, Texas City
6:30 League City City Council
6:30 Mystic Krewe of Aquarius Annual "Fat Tuesday" Parade, Downtown Galveston
7:00 Dickinson City Council

Wednesday, February 25
12:00 Rotary Club of Galveston, Brothers Petronella Top Gallant Room.  The program is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with Howard Cordell
6:00 El Lago City Council Workshop on Personnel Policies and Procedures  
6:00 South East Texas Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee, SETRPC Swan Room, 2210 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont
6:30 Island Skaters Association, Yaga's Cafe, 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.  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.