|
In Texas, Abortion Issue Heats Up, Bills Introduced Could Restrict Access Political fights over abortion are heating up in the Texas Legislature. Pro-life lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills that would restrict abortion access or clinic operations. |
|
Texas Lawmakers Duel Over Medicaid Expansion Top elected officials in Texas joined in Austin today to reinforce their stance against Medicaid expansion. The governor and lieutenant governor, along with senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz spoke at the state capitol about their concerns over the Medicaid program. |
|
Kaufman County Murders Lead To Extra Security For Houston-Area Prosecutors Law enforcement is beefing up security for prosecutors in Texas following the weekend killings of the Kaufman County district attorney and his wife. Their deaths came two months after an assistant district attorney was gunned down in a parking lot near his courthouse office. |
|
As More Folks Cut Their Landlines, Harris County Launches 911 Education Campaign Harris County is launching a new campaign to make sure people know how to properly use 911. This campaign is needed, in part, because more people are discontinuing their landlines, and moving exclusively to cell phones. |
|
Severe Drought Moves To Houston, Most Of The State In Drought Conditions Latest reports from the U.S. Drought Monitor show most of Harris County in severe drought. How are the conditions and how do they compare to a couple years back? |
|
Houston City Council Candidates Line Up For At-Large Position 3 Houston's municipal elections are eight months away and candidates are out campaigning. One political analyst says it's not too early to get the word out, especially in some races where the field is getting crowded. |
|
Shifting Oil Sands Economics Work To Houston's Benefit A study by energy research firm IHS CERA provides a fresh economic argument for building the Keystone XL pipeline. |
|
For Perry, School Trumps Party And Politics Gov. Rick Perry torments Democrats and disparages trial lawyers, but he likes Aggies. Even if they're Democratic trial lawyers. |
|
Renovations Underway At Historic Lancaster Hotel One of Houston's historic hotels is getting a $10 million dollar makeover. The Lancaster Hotel has been in the same family since it was built in 1926. |
|
Governor Turns To TXDOT To Fund Air Traffic Control For 13 Airports The Federal Aviation Administration has slashed funding for 149 control towers across the country, due to sequestration. TXDOT will step in to keep control towers open at 13 small airports, including Sugar Land Regional, when those facilities lose federal funding next month. |
|
After a five-year hiatus, Houston Metro's day pass is coming back. Yesterday's Metro board vote will make it possible for the Q-Card to accommodate the day pass feature. |
|
Houston Church Performs Same-Sex Covenant Rite While same-sex marriages aren’t legal in the state of Texas, some churches are deciding to move forward. St. Stephen's Episcopal Church performed the first same-sex union ceremony in the city of Houston. |
|
Houston Grand Opera Receives $1 Million Dollar Gift The Houston Grand Opera is receiving a million-dollar gift from some longtime season subscribers. |
|
Texas Adds 80,600 Jobs In February Texas led the nation in over-the-month job gains in February, according to numbers just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
|
Bauer Business Focus: Leslie Killian This year, the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business is offering four different summer camp programs for high school students. Leslie Killian is assistant director for outreach at the college. She joins Andrew Schneider on this week's installment of the "Bauer Business Focus." |
|
Gulf Coast Businesses Brace For Severe Hurricane Season Houston-based ImpactWeather is forecasting this year's Atlantic hurricane season will be more severe than last year's. A storm in the Gulf of Mexico would affect Houston-area businesses, even if it misses the region altogether. |
|
Houston ISD Finalist For Top Education Award, The Broad Prize It's not easy to be a finalist for the nation's biggest prize in education. A district can't apply for the award. The Houston Independent School District is a finalist for the second year in a row. |
|
JetBlue Announces New Boston-Houston Route JetBlue Airways has announced it will establish a connection between Houston’s Hobby Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston. The announcement is a good sign for frugal travelers. |
|
Cuban Border Crossers Make Houston Their Home Last year the number of Cuban immigrants coming to Texas jumped by 60 percent. Recent changes in Cuban law make it easier for people to travel to South America. From there, they can reach the American border on land. |
|
OMG! Adult Drivers Now Out-Text Teen Drivers A new survey of drivers indicates more people than ever admit to texting while driving. Adult drivers now exceed teens when it comes to using their phones while on the road. |
|
Human Trafficking Hotspots In Houston While it's difficult to locate businesses involved in the human trafficking black market, this mini-map is meant to provide general information on human trafficking in the city. Pan and zoom to see alleged hotspots. |
|
After Four Decades, Galveston Realizes There's An Obvious Song To Promote Tourism Galveston is planting an earworm in the brains of tourists. The island's tourism bureau has re-worked an old song in hopes of bringing new visitors to the island. |
|
Rice Sociologist: Improving Quality Of Life Crucial For Houston's Economic Future Houston has long been a great place to find a job, but it doesn't have the best reputation for quality of life. As the proportion of oil-related jobs continues to give way to other types of employment, beautification and downtown development become essential to secure the city's economic future. That's according to one sociologist, who says Houston needs to change in order to attract new talent. |
|
Prague Shakespeare Company Performs Henry V At Main Street Theater William Shakespeare's play Henry V is currently being performed at the Main Street Theater in Houston. It's a co-production of Main Street and the Prague Shakespeare Company, a theater troupe based in the Czech Republic, but with roots here in Houston. |
|
Soft Exports, Falling Rig Count Slow Texas Growth Texas economic activity dipped in January, according to Comerica Bank's monthly index. |
|
Digging Through Public Trash Cans Could Become Legal Soon A portion of a rummaging ordinance could be revised after a homeless veteran was ticketed for going through a trash can at a city park earlier this month, trying to find something to eat. |
|
Chemical Industry Rides Crest Of Natural Gas Wave Ten years ago, domestic chemical manufacturing looked bound for extinction. But the revolution in natural gas production has given the industry a new lease on life, bringing thousands of new jobs to Greater Houston. |
|
New Dome Plan Has International Flavor A couple of Houston natives say they've come up with the best idea yet on how to Save the empty Houston Astrodome. The latest plan has the support of the Hofheinz family. |
|
Texas Lawmaker Says Proposed New High School Graduation Plans Give 'Flexibility' This week after a marathon session, the Texas House passed what could mark the biggest change to public education in years, in particular changes to testing and graduation requirements. |
|
Heights Residents Talk About Mobility Problems The Houston Planning Department is hearing complaints from Heights-area residents about increased traffic and long waits at red lights. Residents are sounding off as the city gathers input on how to improve mobility on the northside |
|
Calling Workers: Small Texas Towns, Big Paychecks In some Texas counties, a basic necessity is running low. The state government calls it an "acute shortage." If you think we're talking about water, we're not. The shortage is one of workers. |
|
Bristow Wins Contract To Run UK's Airborne Search And Rescue A private Houston company is set to take over the work of Britain's military search-and-rescue helicopter service, whose pilots include Prince William. |
|
Texas House Passed The Long-Debated Education Bill The Texas House passed a major education bill, House Bill 5, Tuesday night after a marathon debate and consideration of more than 100 amendments. The bill reduces the number of tests in high school from 15 to five, changes the graduation plan for students and revises the grading system for schools. |
|
Decisions, Decisions ... What To Do About The Houston Astrodome? Harris County Judge Ed Emmett says the future of the Houston Astrodome will be initially decided by county commissioners, and if that involves money, then residents would have to approve it in a referendum. |
|
Texas House Debates Testing, School Grading System The controversy over high stakes testing in schools reached the floor of the Texas House this week. Many teachers and parents say students are tested too much. |
|
Royce White's Openness With Mental Illness Is Blessing To Some, Curse To Others The mental illness of pro basketball player Royce White has been much discussed since he was drafted by the Houston Rockets last year. White was initially assigned to a minor league team but has continued to stir the conversation about his mental health here in Houston, most recently for leaving that team. |
|
Major Flu Vaccine Plant Will Be Built At Texas A&M GlaxoSmithKline will build a major biopharmaceutical plant at Texas A&M in Bryan-College Station. The partnership with the university system is part of a major federal grant to grow the nation’s biological defenses against natural threats like epidemics or bioterrorism. |
|
SCOTUS Declines To Hear Challenge To TX Open Meetings Law The state's Open Meetings Act will not get a hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has decided not to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law. This marks the end of a battle over whether elected officials can talk business outside of actual meetings. |
|
Major Testing Bill To Hit Texas House Floor Over the past year there has been a major debate over testing in schools. Parents and school boards have weighed in on the topic. Today state lawmakers will debate a key piece of legislation that could roll back testing in Texas. |
|
Consumers Keep Spending Despite Payroll Tax Hike It's been nearly three months since federal payroll taxes reverted to 2010 levels. But a new study finds most consumers are acting as if nothing has changed. |
|
Amendment Filed To Protect Beach Property Owners Lawmakers will discuss a proposed constitutional amendment tomorrow that deals with the boundaries of public beaches. The measure is in response to a 2010 Texas Supreme Court ruling that stated that private property rights superseded the state's claim to the property as part of the open beaches act. |
|
Metro Wants To Make Trips Easier For Bike Riders Metro's Strategic Planning Committee got an update on the "Bike and Ride" Access Study. Metro says it wants to make it easier for Houstonians to combine bike and bus travel. |
|
Bayou City Art Festival Draws Connoisseurs To Memorial Park This past weekend was the Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park. It was the 42nd year for the twice yearly festival, which attracts artists from all over the country and beyond. The event is characteristic for Houston's art culture. |
|
Managers Cautious But Upbeat About Texas Economy A new survey of Texas business owners finds a large majority do not expect an economic downturn in 2013. |
|
Could The Gay Marriage Cases At SCOTUS Affect Texas? The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week in two cases related to same-sex marriage. One case deals with Proposition 8 – the constitutional ban on gay marriage in California. The other tackles one part of the federal defense of marriage act. |
|
Houston Railroad Museum Seeks A New Home After being tucked away on the city's northeast side for over three decades, the Houston Railroad Museum has to look for a new home. The museum is weighing a couple of different options as it works to come up with the money to relocate some important pieces of local history. |
|
Choking On Ethanol And High Gas Prices The high price of gasoline is prompting calls for a fresh look at the nation's renewable fuel standards. |
|
Perry, Some Lawmakers Want State's Gold Back In Texas Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas. |
|
State Insurance Regulator's Job Is On The Line Eleanor Kitzman, the state's insurance commissioner, will be out of a job at the end of the session if she's not reappointed by Gov. Rick Perry and approved by the Texas Senate. |
