01.31.06
Posted in News at 12:22 am by Paloma Cruz
Texas leads U.S. in income gap between wealthy, middle-class
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
No other state has a wider income gap between its richest and middle class than Texas, according to a national study released today.
At the same time, Texas ranks second only to New York in its income gap between its richest and poorest inhabitants, according to the study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
[snip]
From 2001 to 2003, the average income of the top 20 percent of Texas families — $118,971 — was nearly three times the average income of the middle 20 percent, which made $41,015, the study shows.
The average income of Texas’ richest families was more than eight times greater than the $14,724 average of poorest one-fifth.
The study also found that in both Texas and the nation, the gap between the richest families and those in the middle or lowest end continues to grow.
[snip]
“Texas and Houston have got to massively upgrade their education systems,” he said. “If we don’t find a way to educate the work force in the 21st century, the state is not going to be competitive.”
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01.28.06
Posted in News at 7:22 pm by Paloma Cruz
Houston doctors offer free care to uninsured
– reported by KHOU CBS Channel 11
A new program is getting under way in Houston that allows doctors to care for the uninsured for free.
According to the latest figures from 2004, more than 1.1 million people in Harris County alone do not have health insurance.”
For thousands of Houstonians without insurance, the emergency room is their only option for health care.
[snip]
To be eligible, patients must be referred from a federally-qualified health center and be at least 150 percent below the poverty level with no other access to health insurance.
So far, about 50 doctors are in the program.
Dr. Shelley Sekula Gibbs was one of the first to treat a patient.
“This is an organized way so the doctors don’t feel like they are doing it all on their own,” said Dr. Sekula Gibbs.
In the coming months, the goal is to add more doctors.
For more information on the Gateway to Care Program, just call 713-783-4616.
I only have one thing to say: Wow!
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01.25.06
Posted in News at 12:19 am by Paloma Cruz
As if the recent “Meanest City” title wasn’t enough, Houston police are now rounding up the homeless to remind them that they aren’t welcome.
Complaints spark HPD to roust downtown homeless
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Houston police today rousted dozens of homeless from downtown encampments in a sweep spurred at least partly by complaints from businesses and residents.
Beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing into the afternoon, officers ordered people to gather their belongings and leave locations where they had spent the night in Tranquillity Park, parking lots near homeless shelters and under bridges.
Although some complained, most complied, wandering off with what possessions they could carry. Police made no arrests during the early part of the operation.
Police Capt. Dwayne Ready said the sweep was part of a continuing, comprehensive homeless program delayed since August as the city dealt with the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Police plan to conduct similar operations every couple of months to prevent downtown camping, he said. The purpose is to respond to complaints, and to try to get the homeless into more permanent settings, Ready said.
[snip]
blogHOUSTON has some great relevant links about this, if you’re interested.
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01.23.06
Posted in News at 11:49 pm by Paloma Cruz
…and mine isn’t on the list. I don’t know if I should be glad or disappointed.
Top 10 most stolen vehicles in Texas in 2005
– reported by KTRK Channel 13
[snip]
The Texas Department of Public Safety has released its final report on the top vehicles reported stolen in Texas during 2005, and as has been the case for several years, the Chevrolet Pickup holds the No. 1 stolen vehicle position. Coming in at a close No. 2 is the Ford Pickup. In the No. 3 position, the Dodge Pickup also remains a popular target for Texas thieves. The Honda Accord and the Honda Civic round out the top five stolen vehicles.
2005 TEXAS TOP 10 STOLEN VEHICLES
1. Chevrolet Pickup
2. Ford Pickup
3. Dodge Pickup
4. Honda Accord
5. Honda Civic
6. GMC Pickup
7. Chevrolet Tahoe
8. Ford Taurus
9. Toyota Camry
10. Ford Mustang
[snip]
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01.22.06
Posted in News at 11:10 pm by Paloma Cruz
Senior tuition waived
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Senior citizens ages 65 or older who register for classes at San Jacinto College can have the cost of tuition waived for up to six semester hours of credit classes per semester. Fees and out-of-district charges will still be applicable.
For more information, call the Central Campus admissions office at 281-476-1816; North Campus admissions office at 281-459-7129; or South Campus admissions office at 281-922-3432.
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01.16.06
Posted in General at 10:19 pm by Paloma Cruz
A list of online calendars where you can find events and activities in Houston:
There are probably lots more (lots and lote), but this will get you started.
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01.14.06
Posted in News at 11:19 pm by Paloma Cruz
I knew that increasing prices wasn’t in my imagination:
Gasoline costs push inflation at the wholesale level up
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Soaring gasoline costs pushed inflation at the wholesale level up sharply in December, ending a year in which wholesale inflation rose at the fastest pace since 1990.
The Labor Department reported that its Producer Price Index, which measures price pressures before they reach the consumer, rose 0.9 percent in December, the biggest increase since a 1.7 percent jump in September. The culprit in both months was a big surge in gasoline costs, which spiked above $3 per gallon in early September, reflecting lost Gulf Coast production following Hurricane Katrina.
For all of 2005, wholesale prices rose by 5.4 percent. That was the biggest increase since a 5.7 percent increase in 1990, and another year in which surging oil costs pushed inflation higher. However, core inflation, excluding energy and food, was up a more moderate 1.7 percent in 2005, including a tiny 0.1 percent increase in December.
In other economic news, retail sales posted a 0.7 percent increase in December after rising by 0.8 percent in November.
However, excluding autos, consumer spending at retail stores was up a much more modest 0.2 percent following a decline of 0.4 percent in November. Those figures were viewed as depicting a rather lackluster Christmas sales season.
The 0.9 percent increase in wholesale prices in December followed a 0.7 percent plunge in prices in November. Economists had been expecting a rebound last month but the increase was more than double the 0.4 percent rise in the PPI they had been predicting.
[snip]
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01.11.06
Posted in News at 10:55 pm by Paloma Cruz
Cavalia Comes to Houston
– reported by KUHF
The biggest touring tent in North America is now up in the Galleria area. The 110-foot tall Big Top houses the adventurous and innovative production of Cavalia.
[snip]
Acrobats, aerialists, riders and horses will perform in the 26,000 square-foot Big Top. Normand Latourelle is the president and artistic director behind Cavalia. He was also one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil.
[snip]
The Big Top may be up now but it’ll take 12 days to erect all seven tents in the Galleria area. The production involves 44 horses. Each horse does no more than seven shows a week. It can take anywhere from six months to ten years to train a horse for Cavalia. The show opens January 24th.
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Posted in News at 10:31 pm by Paloma Cruz
I may be too dense, but I don’t really understand (from the many news reports I’ve read so far) how they’re going to tell the difference between those they need to fine and those they don’t.
Council approves curb vehicle-selling practice
‘Curbstoning’ can leave buyers with damaged car
– reported by the Houston Chronicle(1)
Car brokers who park for-sale vehicles on streets or lots without permission could pay fines and see their products towed under an ordinance the Houston City Council approved today.
The new law, passed with little discussion, aims at a practice called “curbstoning” - the business of buying and selling cars without a dealer license or an established place of business.
It is directed at people who sell cars as a business, not private individuals who display their own cars for sale on their property or adjacent rights-of-way.
Violation is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a municipal court fine of up to $500. And police could tow violating vehicles after warning sellers.
In pushing the ordinance, the city contended that curbstoning can promote neighborhood eyesores and fraudulent sales practices.
[snip]
The rules give police the power to call such sellers and ask them to move their vehicles or face a tow. Violators face municipal court fines up to $500.
[snip]
City officially makes ‘curbstoning’ illegal
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
[snip]
The passage of the ordinance is the culmination of efforts by City Councilmembers Toni Lawrence and Ronald Green, the Houston Police Department and representatives from the automobile dealership, industry among others, (See: “Catch-22 prevents crackdown on ‘curbstoning,’ May 2, 2005.)
The ordinance stems from new legislative authority given to the city by the State of Texas through the passage of House Bill 2509. The law empowers cities to fight curbstoning by allowing city municipal courts to hear violations on the matter. Previously, the city had no jurisdiction over the practice.
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
- KHOU CBS Channel 11 requires a free registration.
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Posted in News at 10:19 pm by Paloma Cruz
Dallas named ‘meanest city’ in Texas
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
A Washington-based nonprofit homeless advocacy group has named Dallas as the “meanest” city in Texas — and the sixth meanest in the nation.
[snip]
San Antonio comes in at eleventh for new ordinances that target aggressive panhandling, sleeping in public, urinating in public and camping or sleeping in vehicles without licenses.
Austin weighs in at 15th for proposed bans on public sleeping, panhandling and loitering.
Report: Houston is mean to its homeless
– reported by KHOU CBS Channel 11(2)
The city that opened its heart to tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees is now being called heartless when it comes to the homeless.
A report by the National Coalition for the Homeless ranks Houston as the seventh meanest city in the country when it comes to the way it treats its homeless.
The report focuses on specific city measures from 2005 that have targeted homeless persons, such as laws that make it illegal to sleep, eat, or sit in public spaces.
[snip]
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
- KHOU CBS Channel 11 requires a free registration.
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