Been off on vacation? Here’s some of the things making the news around Bay Area Houston.
Clear Lake City
Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan will host a District E Candidates’ Forum and Town Hall meeting Monday, Oct. 8, at the UH-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., in the Garden Room of the Bayou Building beginning promptly at 6 p.m., with the candidates’ forum starting at 6:30 p.m.
City of Houston Department representatives will present updates on District E projects and be available to answer questions, and all three candidates for the District E seat will participate in the forum.
NASA has selected Barrios Technology Ltd. to provide mission and program integration services for the International Space Station Program at the Johnson Space Center. The two-year base contract begins Oct. 1 and extends through Sept. 30, 2014. The total potential value of the contract is $384.7 million.
Subcontractors on the contract include ARES Technical Services Corp. of Houston and Booz Allen Hamilton of McLean, Va.
Dickinson
Rhonda Alvarez of Dickinson is living a dream these days. She won $1.2 million playing a slot machine in Lake Charles, La., during Labor Day weekend at the L’Auberge Casino Resort. Earlier, her husband won $13,000 during a visit to the same casino.
El Lago
El Lago City Hall has moved to its new location at 411 Tallowood Drive, next to the El Lago Racquet Club and pool complex. There are still a few things left to do but we are operational, City Secretary Ann Vernon said recently. Several streets also are under construction as part of a project that will last about a year.
Galveston
Galveston has avoided an extensive court battle by agreeing to rebuild public housing destroyed by Hurricane Ike. Mayor Lewis Rosen and City Council had to renege on campaign promises and crater to federal and state demands or lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.
The 135-year-old tall ship Elissa is undergoing a second restoration at Bollinger Shipyard in Texas City to repair damages she suffered during Hurricane Ike. The Galveston Historical Foundation, which owns the ship, was recently awarded $1.4 million by the Federal Emergency Management Agency because of hull corrosion caused by hurricane damages and expects to get her sailing again early next year.
Kemah
The old Kemah schoolhouse, which today serves as the city’s Visitor’s Center, is 100 years old. Opened in 1912, it served as a school until Stewart Elementary opened in 1949.
League City
City Council was able to lower League City’s tax rate by 1.3 cents to 59.7 cents per $100 property valuation as it approved $205 million in spending for the coming year.
Nassau Bay
Harris County Commissioners Court, at the request of Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman, has approved funding for the reconstruction of Harbour Drive, between West Indies Court and Windward Lane, and the cul-de-sac ends of Grenada Lane and Windward Lane in Nassau Bay. The project cost estimate to complete this work is $914,000. Public Works Director Paul Lopez will meet with county engineers soon to discuss all improvements and concerns.
Pasadena
Recently retired Dobie High Principal Steve Jamail has been named Region 4 Principal of the Year for 2012 by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. Jamail, who retired in January after 11 years as Dobie’s principal, joins winners from the state’s 19 other Education Service Center regions in a pool of candidates for the honor of Texas Principal of the Year title. He served 20 years at Dobie, the first nine as an assistant football coach and then as an assistant principal. He received his bachelor’s degree from TCU, where he played football. His career in education spanned 40 years.
Seabrook
City Council has amended its noise ordinance to prohibit “unreasonable noise.”
Which translates to “Disturbance of a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities prohibited.” The fine can run as high as $2,000. Better keep it down.
