It's Friday, and you know what that means. Yes, another News You Can Use from Houston, Texas, the home of President George Bush, who just gave his support for the Republican nomination for president to Mitt Romeny.
We also enjoy Mayor Annise Parker, our nation's first lesbian mayor. Ms. Parker and her life partner, Kathy Hubbard, have been together since 1990. They have three children. Parker leads the fourth largest city in the USA, affectionately known to locals as Htown, Space City, Bayou City, or just simply "home."
Mayor Annise D. Parker is a second generation native Houstonian. She attended Rice University, graduating in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. In the private sector, Ms. Parker spent 20 years working in the oil and gas industry, including 18 years with Mosbacher Energy Company. Mayor Parker was sworn in to her first term as mayor of Houston on January 4, 2010. She is Houston’s 61st Mayor, one of only two women to hold the City’s highest elected office. As the City's chief executive officer she is responsible for all aspects of the general management of the City and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.
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And now, what follows is information from various news sites, although not all will be local media or necessarily always covering Houston, or Texas; however that will be my main focus. As always let me know what you like, don't like or any suggestions from fellow DKos community members.
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COMMUNITY
Crime Stoppers to target child predators
Next month, Crime Stoppers is planning to target Houston's most wanted child predators. The initiative coincides with National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which begins April 1, and this could be the largest child safety campaign in the organization's history. They are the worst of the worst, accused child predators walking amongst us and sometimes hiding in plain sight. The number is staggering. Some 1,600 are in Harris County alone.
http://abclocal.go.com/...
FEMA spurns Harris housing authority's $7M reimbursement claim
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied a $7 million reimbursement claim from the Harris County Housing Authority for a Hurricane Ike damage survey, adding to the turmoil while the authority is still reeling from a leadership shake-up amid questionable spending. The authority sought reimbursement for a survey that assessed property damage after the 2008 hurricane, but FEMA said it did not ask for, need or want the information.
http://www.chron.com/...
Inside look at the Astrodome shows history, reveals ruin
From the highs of Houston sports to the lows of human misery after Hurricane Katrina, the Houston Astrodome has been home to history, but it’s now vacant and eroding before our eyes. The structure no longer has a certificate of occupancy, and even though it hasn’t been used in four years, it’s costing the county two to three million dollars a year in maintenance fees.
http://www.khou.com/...
BUSINESS
HCHD's Lopez says health care for the poor is his ministryCounty hospital chief optimistic about challenge
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission tapped Lopez to oversee the creation of a regional plan, part of a complicated project known as the Medicaid 1115 waiver, intended to determine who gets paid - and how much - for providing charity care. Hospitals that historically have received the most federal money for treating people without health insurance are not guaranteed to do so under the new rules.
http://www.chron.com/...
Waste Management Turns To Reality TV As Marketing Tool
Houston-based Waste Management will be one of a handful of companies featured in a new reality TV series on AMC. In AMC’s new unscripted series, The Pitch, two advertising agencies are given seven days to develop an ad campaign for a potential client. Waste Management will be featured in the series’ two-hour premiere on Monday, April 30.
http://app1.kuhf.org/...
Isolated Texas Electric Grid Could Add Links
Texas' electric grid prefers to stay isolated from the rest of the nation. But proposals are afoot to boost outside ties — something that proponents say could help ease the state's looming electricity crunch.
http://www.texastribune.org/...
NONPROFIT / OTHER
United Way campaign exceeds goal, sets record at $79.2 million
Thanks to the generosity of the Houston community, United Way of Greater Houston today announced it exceeded its goal, raising $79.2 million, an increase of almost $5 million over last year, for the 2011-12 community campaign. Key to this year’s success was a 7 percent increase from 12,625 individuals personally contributing $1,000 or more. “The dedicated leadership donors collectively gave over $34.8 million; these donors fuel the work of our United Way of Greater Houston,” noted Kruger.
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/...
Philanthropy: Make it meaningful
Regardless of a donor’s underlying compulsion, most people assume that philanthropy is good. But what makes a good philanthropist? Given the different perspectives of grantors and grantees, it is a subjective question, and perhaps an irresolvable one. Yet with a growing number of academic sources, training programmes and advisory services for philanthropists to draw on, it is a question many seek to answer.
http://www.ft.com/...
Number of Charities and Foundations in U.S. Drops Sharply as New Law Goes Into Effect
The number of charities and foundations registered with the Internal Revenue Service fell by 16 percent in 2011, mostly because more than 272,000 organizations lost their tax-exempt status after failing to follow the law by filing informational tax forms. New figures released by the tax agency show that the number of groups classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code totaled nearly 1.1 million in 2011, down from nearly 1.3 million in 2010.
http://philanthropy.com/...
The New Changemakers: How Young Professionals Are Changing the World
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenges facing children and families in our communities and worldwide. In the U.S. alone, more than 15 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. All over the world, billions of people lack the basic necessities of life: Food, clean water, and adequate shelter. The numbers are so staggering that we barely know where to begin. How can we help confront these enormous problems? What can we do that will actually make an impact? The good news is that there are many opportunities for concerned citizens to get involved and make change happen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...