Welcome to my community-building diary series, Houston, Texas News You Can Use. As always, opinions are my own. Links, re-posts, comments etc., not necessarily endorsements. I'm an out loud and proud liberal, card-carrying LGBT community member, nonprofit professional, and DKos Trusted User. I appreciate any/all feedback.
5 races to watch as Texans go to polls today
In the nation's first primary of the season, Texans going to the polls Tuesday will come one step closer to filling a slate of open seats from the governor's office on down - the first time in a dozen years that so many races are competitive at the same time. And while U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz isn't on the ballot, candidates are hoping to replicate his tea party-fueled win two years ago and knock off more established Republican officials, including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Spirited insurgencies inspired by the tea party movement have fueled internal debates about the direction of the Republican Party, particularly in Texas, which is undergoing dramatic demographic changes.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/...
COMMUNITY
Ice, freezing rain and sleet grip Houston
Freezing rain, ice and slick roads early Tuesday made a dangerous wintry mix in the Houston area, leading to power outages, traffic wrecks and other problems. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 11 a.m. as an arctic chill grips the region, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters said temperatures are likely to hover just below or near freezing for much of the morning hours. Freezing rain and isolated sleet may be possible throughout the area, especially north and east of Houston, said Lance Wood, a meteorologist with the weather service.
http://www.chron.com/...
Ag Candidates Weigh In on School Lunch Program
One of the Texas agriculture commissioner's biggest jobs is running the federally funded school breakfast and lunch program. Read what the Republican and Democratic candidates for agriculture commissioner have to say about the program. During the 2012-13 school year, the agriculture department spent nearly $1.8 billion in mostly federal money on breakfasts, lunches and snacks for Texas schoolchildren. Another $290 million in federal money paid for meals in day care centers. Here’s what each major party candidate said about how he would run nutrition programs in Texas:
http://www.texastribune.org/...
Despite New Law, Algebra II Remains a University Admission Requirement
Though a new law removes algebra II as a core requirement for a high school diploma, many Texas universities say they have no plans to change their admissions standards to drop the advanced math course. In January, the State Board of Education finalized new graduation requirements under the guidelines lawmakers passed in 2013 as part of House Bill 5, which changed curriculum and testing requirements in Texas schools. Starting this fall, algebra II will no longer be a part of the default “foundation graduation plan.” Instead, students will choose diploma "endorsements" in specialized areas like science and technology, business, or humanities, which will determine the math courses they take.
http://www.texastribune.org/...
Obama Budget Offers Tax Breaks From Child Care to College
U.S. President Barack Obama’s budget will propose tax cuts for low-income families, a retirement savings plan and ask Congress to make permanent certain tax breaks to offset the cost of higher education. The Obama administration yesterday released excerpts of the president’s $3 trillion-plus fiscal 2015 budget to be sent to lawmakers today. It will call for $56 billion in new spending for repairs of roads and bridges, job training and preschool education.
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
Annual 'March On Crime' Focuses On Trending Crimes In Houston
The City of Houston has proclaimed March a crime awareness month. Like every year this month, police focus on a few crimes that have been trending for the past year. It’s called “March on Crime” and aims to remind the public to stay vigilant in order to prevent crime. Mayor Annise Parker says police officers will reach out to businesses and community organizations throughout the month.
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/...
Forbes list has 14 Houston billionaires
Houston billionaires among newest and youngest on Forbes' list
Forbes’ “The World’s Billionaires” list hit a record this year with 1,645 billionaires, 14 of whom call the Houston area home. Of the Houstonians, two are new to the list this year — George Bishop and Dan Friedkin — and two were among the 31 youngest billionaires on the list— John Arnold and Scott Duncan. George Mitchell and Kenneth "Bud" Adams Jr., oilmen best known for their more public endeavours - Mitchell developed The Woodlands and Adams owned the Houston Oilers, a football team he eventually moved to Tennessee - were among 16 billionaires who had died since the last list came out. The 2014 list includes 14 people from the Houston area, including newcomers George Bishop, founder of GeoSouthern Energy, and Dan Friedkin, owner and chairman of Gulf States Toyota.
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
BUSINESS
The Stand-Off Ends; Houston And HFD Reach Agreement
The stand-off is over, for now. Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston Firefighter’s Union have come to a tentative agreement that will help the city avoid a threatened reduction in fire service. It is a short-term agreement, which Houston Mayor Annise Parker says will not only avoid the brown-outs of fire apparatus proposed earlier to solve an $8.5-million dollar overtime shortfall. The proposal calls for the elimination of guaranteed holidays through the end of June and other changes designed to control overtime costs going forward. Firefighters will also be getting a 2-percent across-the-board pay increase and a one-time uniform allowance at a cost of $ 3.64 million dollars:
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/...
Discussing the State of the Med Center (audio)
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world. It’s really a city unto itself. On this edition of Houston Matters, we explore the state of the Med Center, and welcome your questions for its
President and CEO, Dr. Robert Robbins. Among our topics: just what we mean when we say “Medical Center” – do we mean the destination campus, the medical institutions that are a part of it, or the municipality? Or all of the above?
http://www.houstonmatters.org/...
General Dynamics to cut 1,195 jobs in Houston
A temporary call center in Houston that helped to enroll consumers in health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act as well as Medicare is shutting down its operations next month. General Dynamics Information Technology, a federal government contractor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, notified the Texas Workforce Commission that it would begin closing its call center operations in Houston on April 25. The process will take approximately two weeks, General Dynamics said in its letter to the commission. The company's 1,195 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the shutdown, General Dynamics reported.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/...
NONPROFIT / OTHER
Suicidal Tendencies Found to Be Evident Before Deployment
Amid growing alarm at the rate of suicide among members of the military and confusion about possible causes, researchers reported on Monday that most of the Army’s enlisted men and women with suicidal tendencies had them before they enlisted, and that those at highest risk of making an attempt often had a long history of impulsive anger. The new research — contained in three papers posted online Monday by the journal JAMA Psychiatry — found that about one in 10 soldiers qualified for a diagnosis of “intermittent explosive disorder,” as it is known to psychiatrists — more than five times the rate found in the general population.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Social Impact Bonds: Investing for Success
Policy Questions Raised by Social Investors. Since 2011, social impact bonds have moved from concept to execution in the United States. These bonds, known as SIBs, are innovative financing tools for social programs: Private investors pay the upfront costs for providing social services, and government agencies repay the investors with a return—if and only if a third-party evaluator determines that the services achieve agreed-upon outcomes. These agreements may be a viable source of expanding support for preventive interventions that could both demonstrably improve social outcomes and save cash-strapped governments money on later remedial services.
http://www.americanprogress.org/...
Foundations on the Hill: What Should We Say?
As foundations visit congressional offices over the next week, likely conversations will focus on Rep. Dave Camp’s (R-MI) tax plan and how his proposed changes would affect charitable contributions. No doubt this is a priority for some in the nonprofit sector. At the same time, there are other priorities that foundations should be addressing. The first is growing inequality in America, which has been a core concern for many foundations. We need to clearly articulate the problem: It is not that the One Percent has done well; it is that the other 99 percent have not. There are at least three things Congress can do to begin helping the 99 percent. First, it can increase funding for programs that help low-income individuals and families. From education to housing, too many programs have been cut so deeply that they cannot meet existing, let alone growing, demand. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows that there is widespread support across political parties for government intervention to address poverty.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/...
Troubling Numbers In Volunteering Rates
Statistics released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing volunteering at a 10-year low have some in the industry scratching their heads or backing away from the numbers, including a sponsor of the survey. According to the BLS, the volunteer rate declined by 1.1 percent to 25.4 percent of the population for the year ending in September 2013. Approximately 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2012 and September 2013.
http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/...