CCMobility Nov 2023

Federal funds to assist county in buying out flood-prone properties

by | Nov 21, 2019 | Opinion

Land Commissioner George P. Bush on Nov. 14 announced the Texas General Land Office’s approval of $21,155,575 in Hurricane Harvey funds for Fort Bend County to conduct a buyout program.

In the late summer of 2017, record-heavy rainfall brought by Hurricane Harvey catastrophically flooded streets and homes. Fort Bend County will use the funds to conduct a buyout program targeting approximately 100 homes most vulnerable to flooding.

The funds come from a much larger pool of federal assistance. Bush was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to lead Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts funded by $5.7 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Hurricane Harvey devastated communities across the Texas Coast,” said Bush. “These recovery funds are critical to protecting lives, homes and businesses from future storms. We continue to work with our partners in communities across the region to leverage these resources efficiently and effectively to benefit Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey.”

Court stays execution

The execution of a Texas death row inmate incarcerated since May 1998 was stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Nov. 15.

The court order came five days before Rodney Reed, 51, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. A number of Republican and Democratic federal and state lawmakers and celebrities called on Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent the execution as motions for the reexamination of DNA and other evidence and the introduction of new witness statements gained publicity. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted in favor of granting a 120-day reprieve of the execution.

In 1998, Reed was convicted in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old grocery store clerk. Both Reed and Stites were residents of Bastrop when Stites’s body was found. Reed, who had dated Stites, was arrested as a suspect and taken into custody.

Lawmaker is charged

State Rep. Poncho Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass, on Nov. 14 was charged with possession of a controlled substance and released on $10,000 bond.

In September, Nevarez was observed on Austin airport security cameras dropping an envelope containing some 2 grams of cocaine. A conviction for possession of that amount of cocaine is a third-degree felony that could result in a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Nevarez has announced he will not seek reelection to a fifth term as the state representative for District 74, an enormous district that includes the counties of Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell and Val Verde.

Nevarez serves as chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety; as vice chair of the House Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety; and as a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

AG warns of scam calls

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Nov. 14 warned Texans about scam callers falsely claiming to be members of the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Services Division and attempting to obtain personal and financial information.

Fraudulent callers attempt to obtain personal identifying information from the call recipient and ask for money transfers or bank details after baselessly claiming the call recipient’s Social Security number has been compromised. Fraudsters use local numbers and sometimes provide a false case number during the call.

Paxton is encouraging those who receive such calls to notify his office’s Consumer Protection Hotline toll-free at 1-800-621-0508 or to file a complaint online.

Paxton also said his office’s true Crime Victim Services phone number is toll-free 800-983-9933 and local number 512-936-1200.

Abbott declares drought

Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 8 issued a declaration certifying that exceptional drought conditions pose a threat of imminent disaster in 53 of Texas’ 254 counties.

As stated in the disaster declaration, “Significantly low rainfall and prolonged dry conditions continue to increase the threat of wildfire across these portions of the state.”

The declaration authorizes the use of all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope with the disaster.

 

For more like this, see the Nov. 21 issue or subscribe online.

 

By Ed Sterling • Member Services Director for Texas Press Association

CCMobility Nov 2023

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

Former bridge brought fear to travelers

Former bridge brought fear to travelers

When you first learn to drive, there are a few things that are, shall we say, intimidating. For me, there was parallel parking and changing lanes at high speeds. Both of which were challenging in a 1971 Buick Electra 225 Limited, which was one of Detroit’s longer...

read more
Lunchroom ladies

Lunchroom ladies

It’s time the lunchroom ladies got their due. At Burke Street Elementary in Ashdown, Arkansas, (and later Ashdown High School) the kids in my grade were respectful of all adults. But just like at home, we sometimes complained about the food. Especially the food in the...

read more
Counter measures

Counter measures

If you look at what’s missing from this great land, it’s, a barstool on which to sit, good home cookin’, and a counter on which to eat it. The diners of yesterday need a revival. By John Moore For more on this story see the November 23, 2023 print, or...

read more
A thousand words

A thousand words

The late comedian Norm McDonald once joked about how just a century and a half ago, our great grandfather was lucky if he had one photo of himself. With the advent of cell phones, Norm pointed out that a century and a half from now, people would proudly offer to show...

read more
Home sweet home

Home sweet home

The ownership we feel for places we have lived seems absolute. Any house we’ve called home was ours. No one else’s. Even if several others lived in it before or after we did. Such was the case of the house on Beech Street where my family lived in the 60s and early 70s...

read more
Harvesting Texas Traditions

Harvesting Texas Traditions

 As the cool breeze of autumn begins to sweep through the Lone Star State, there’s a particular charm that sets Texas apart during this time of year. Beyond the sprawling landscapes and bustling cities, Texas boasts a remarkable connection between fall...

read more
The bread winner

The bread winner

We called it light bread. Others called it white bread. Regardless of what it was called, in my hometown of Ashdown, Arkansas and most of the rest of the South it was the foundation of the Southern food pyramid. And it was found aplenty at our home on Beech Street....

read more
True Grits: part of a balanced Southern diet

True Grits: part of a balanced Southern diet

Folks who aren’t from the South invariably aren’t familiar with grits. When they come for a visit, they often twist their eyebrows into a John Belushi-type look after they spot them on their breakfast plate. I have kinfolk who live somewhere up close to Canada....

read more
Pay phones, rotary phones: pieces of the past

Pay phones, rotary phones: pieces of the past

The Jetsons got a lot right. Flying cars are now a reality. Zoom meetings. Robot vacuum cleaners. And video phones. One thing that was absent from that cartoon show was something that’s been around for well over 100 years. Something we still use today, and I think...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe