Past Articles by Jim Bell
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Thousands of homes and businesses in Galveston lost their water today because of an electrical fire at one of Galveston's water pump stations. City officials blame the fire on damage caused by Hurricane Ike, almost a year ago. Jim Bell explains. |
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Hurricane Forecast Revised Downward The quiet hurricane season has the experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting fewer hurricanes than they were expecting before the season started. Jim Bell reports. |
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Natural Gas Platform Explosion The Coast Guard will investigate a fire and explosion on a natural gas rig in the Gulf of Mexico not far from Galveston. Jim Bell reports. |
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The University of Houston has a new and unique Master's Degree program school officials say will go a long way toward preparing the next generation of space science professionals. Jim Bell explains. |
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The retired Battleship Texas will finally get the makeover it's needed for years. The state now has the money, and work that will save the old battle wagon for future generations will be completed over the next three to four years. Jim Bell has an update. |
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Investigators in Bryan are digging through the smoldering rubble of a chemical plant, after a huge fire forced thousands of people out of their homes yesterday and overnight. Things are back to normal in Bryan today, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Public Defender for Death Row Appeals People sentenced to death in Texas will soon get better legal representation for their appeals. A Public Defender's office has been created just for them, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Thousands of Texans who got sub-prime mortgages from Countrywide Mortgage are now eligible for restitution and other assistance, under a settlement with the Texas Attorney General. Jim Bell reports. |
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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is almost out of options, in its search for a way to correct the botched sinking of a WWII era ship in the Gulf of Mexico last year. Jim Bell reports. |
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On this 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, we look back at a time when space travel was not as routine as it seems to be today. It was a time of adventurers making history by going where no one had gone before. Jim Bell reports. |
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Walter Cronkite — "the Dean of American Journalism" — has died at the age of 92. Cronkite started his career in Houston, and during his long career in television, he earned the title of "Most Trusted Man in the World." Jim Bell has more. |
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Elissa Sailing Again After Ike After surviving Hurricane Ike last summer, the tall ship "Elissa" is getting ready to begin training a fresh crop of volunteer crewmembers at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston this weekend. Jim Bell reports. |
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Prisons Want to Jam Cell Phones Texas and more than two dozen other states are asking the federal government for permission to jam cell phones inside state prisons. Jim Bell explains why. |
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The Harris County Housing Authority has announced plans to develop a master planned community for military veterans. It will be the first development of its kind anywhere in the country, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Houston VA Studies Traumatic Brain Injuries The Houston VA Hospital has received a $5 million dollar grant to study and develop treatment for traumatic brain injuries, especially in veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jim Bell reports. |
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Funeral arrangements are pending for Gale Storm, a Houston actress and singer who became one of early television's biggest stars. Storm died over the weekend at age 87. Jim Bell reports. |
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A group of local health agencies and community organizations will provide free HIV testing in Houston's Hispanic community tomorrow, as part of the annual National HIV Testing Day. Jim Bell reports. |
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The Harris County Tax Office is issuing its "final warning" for about a hundred thousand delinquent taxpayers. Time is running out for them to pay their property taxes....or else. Jim Bell reports. |
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In an important decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a small central Texas water district can be exempted from a major provision of the Federal Voting Rights Act. Jim Bell reports. |
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M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will hold its annual conference on health care disparities next week. This work is part of a national effort to make health care available to more people who need it, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Rice Gets Grant to Study Hurricane Impact Rice University is getting a one-and-a-quarter million dollar grant to study the full impact of hurricanes, and what governments and people should do to be ready the next time a hurricane hits. Jim Bell reports. |
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Nothing is all bad. Even climate change. There are some "up-sides" in the changes we will have to make to cope with the changing climate in the coming decades. A public forum will be held on this subject tonight, as Jim Bell reports. |
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With the switch to digital television less than two days away, the Federal Communications Commission is going all out to dispel some of the myths surrounding the new technology. Jim Bell explains. |
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Shuttle Crew Prepares for Saturday Launch The crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour has arrived in Florida to get ready for Saturday morning's scheduled launch to the International Space Station. Jim Bell reports. |
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SCOTUS Rules on Judges and Campaign Donations The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled elected judges must step aside from cases involving people who've made big donations to their campaigns. A former Texas Supreme Court judge says this won't have much impact in Texas, as Jim Bell reports. |
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A unique summer enrichment program begins tomorrow at two Houston schools. This program has college and high school students teaching middle school students, and motivating them to stay in school and go to college. Jim Bell reports. |
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Galveston Hurricane Preparedness Meeting Galveston hosts its annual Hurricane Preparedness Town Hall Meeting tonight. Officials say the death and destruction Hurricane Ike left behind last year are proof of the need to be ready for a storm, if it comes. Jim Bell reports. |
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CHIP Expansion Dies in Committee Childrens' advocates are decrying the legislature's failure to pass a bill that would have expanded the Children's Health Insurance Program. They say thousands of Texas children may have to go without health insurance, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Early voting is underway in the runoff election for Houston City Council District H. Jim Bell reports. |
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The Russian Space Agency has signed a multi-million dollar contract with NASA to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station when the old Space Shuttle is retired. Jim Bell reports. |
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Most Coastal Residents Not Ready For a Hurricane Despite the destruction caused by all the hurricanes that have hit Texas in recent years, a survey indicates a majority of people on the Gulf Coast say they're still NOT well prepared for a hurricane. Jim Bell reports. |
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Weather Delays Shuttle Landing Bad weather at Cape Canaveral has delayed the landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis until tomorrow. Florida's weather is so "iffy" NASA still doesn't know where it will come down, as Jim Bell reports. |
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With the switch from analog to digital TV only three weeks away, the FCC is going into high gear with its efforts to educate people about what they need to do to be ready for it. Jim Bell reports. |
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Today has been declared "World Hepatitis Day" by an international group of doctors and public health experts, who say much more needs to be done to stop the spread of this disease. Jim Bell has more. |
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The City of Houston's Municipal Court has extended its 2009 Amnesty Program for another week. People who have "unfinished business" with the city's traffic courts will have an extra week to take care of it, as Jim Bell reports. |
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The Federal Aviation Administration wants to know what Houstonians think of the city's plans to expand Bush Intercontinental Airport, on top of the expansions done in recent years. Jim Bell explains. |
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Space Shuttle Mission to Hubble Space Shuttle Atlantis safely lifted-off earlier this afternoon from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on an 11-day mission to repair the aging Hubble Space Telescope. Jim Bell reports. |
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A new study has found a correlation between a person's education level and their health. It says educated people are generally healthier than less educated people, and this has serious implications for the country's economic future, as Jim Bell reports. |
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The Houston School Board will hold another public meeting tonight in its ongoing search for a new school superintendent. Jim Bell reports. |
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Moratorium on Power Disconnects TXU Energy has declared another moratorium on disconnects for some of its customers who can't pay their electric bills during the hot summer months. Jim Bell reports. |
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Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Reopens The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands is finally reopening this weekend, after spending eight months and nearly ten million dollars repairing damage caused by Hurricane Ike. Jim Bell reports. |
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The City of Houston Municipal Court will conduct another of its periodic "amnesty" periods for two weeks starting tomorrow. It's a chance for people to clear up their "unfinished business" with the city's traffic courts. Jim Bell reports. |
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State officials say it's probable that a lot of flood damaged homes on Houston's west and northwest sides aren't covered by flood insurance. Jim Bell explains. |
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The Red Cross has opened three shelters in northwest Harris County for people affected by today's flooding. Jim Bell reports. |
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Down Economy Hurts Pre-School Programs Here's another victim of the economic downturn. A national study predicts pre-school programs will be hit hard in states struggling struggle to balance their budgets in the middle of a recession. Texas is no exception, as Jim Bell reports. |
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Identifying Abused and Abducted Children Identifying an abused or abducted child can be difficult if law officers don’t know what to look for, so the Texas Department of Public Safety is launching a new program it hopes will change that. Jim Bell explains. |
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Sea Turtle Nesting Season Begins The gulf coast weather is warming up and it's also the beginning of the sea turtle nesting season. Wildlife experts say beach-goers can help the endangered turtles best, by just leaving them alone. Jim Bell explains. |
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Can AT&T and union Reach an Agreement? AT&T and unions for its landline workers are working past a strike deadline trying to reach agreement on a new contract. Union contracts expired over the weekend, but the employees continued working under their old contracts. |
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Spanish Tall Ship Visits Galveston One of the largest and most famous tall sailing ships in the world is in Galveston this weekend, for what officials are calling a goodwill visit with an old friend. Jim Bell reports. |
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Children's Advocates Want Pediatric Unit Kept Open Local children's advocates are calling on the Harris County Hospital District to keep the pediatric care unit at Ben Taub Hospital open. This comes amid reports that Ben Taub doesn't have enough beds for the rising numbers of adults showing up in its emergency rooms. Jim Bell has more. |
