After years of low rates, customers can expect to pay more
JOHN SEEWER, The Associated Press
September 26, 2015
Filed under News
With all the questions surrounding the nation's water supplies and systems, one thing seems certain: Customers will be paying more to keep their taps flowing. Rates have been shooting up nationwide in drought-stricken states and in cities trying to upgrade their aging infrastructure. Experts say the...
US criticizes China ahead of UN women’s equality session
EDITH M. LEDERER, The Associated Press
September 26, 2015
Filed under News
UNITED NATIONS — The United States and human rights organizations sharply criticized China's repression and imprisonment of women's rights activists ahead of a high-level U.N. meeting Sunday to promote women's equality. The session will be co-chaired by China's President Xi Jinping. China hosted...
Race for Mayor: Marty McVey
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 16, 2015
“The city is a business: it’s a service business. Without getting out financial house in order, we can’t provide services,” he says. McVey believes the city’s main concerns should be getting its financial health back, organizing its management and prioritizing the economy. “We cannot put more police officers on the street, we cannot fix the potholes and the infrastructure, and fix other problems without revenue.”
Race for Mayor: Ben Hall
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 15, 2015
Regarding infrastructure Hall says, “I think my solutions are the best of the table.” He proposes consolidating the “behemoth” 23- department system currently in place and cutting out services he thinks are unnecessary to the city — like the city crime lab or the public IT department. Hall says the city already has excess revenue and it’s just being misallocated — traditionally, the city has used the single-highest-pay-period method to calculate pensions for city employees. The money saved from his departmental consolidation would provide funding to cushion pension shortfalls and stop the cycle of issuing more debt to pay pension obligations.
Race for Mayor: Steve Costello
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 14, 2015
Steve and Debbie Costello have been married for 39 years, much of them spent here after moving down south. A career civil engineer, Costello started a successful firm which he says is the model for what his administration would be. “[We] have always prided [ourselves] with delivering work to customers on time and on budget.” Thus far, Costello has kept his campaign specific to three major issues that have long been a thorn in the sides of Houstonians — improving traffic, prioritizing public safety and protecting taxpayer money.
9/11 victims’ relatives mark anniversary with grief, appeals
JONATHAN LEMIRE AND JENNIFER PELTZ, The Associated Press
September 11, 2015
Filed under News
NEW YORK — During years of going to ground zero every Sept. 11, Tom Acquaviva has seen crowds diminish at the ceremonies commemorating the terror attacks. But his determination to participate hasn't. "As long as I'm breathing, I'll be here," Acquaviva, 81, said Friday as he arrived to pay tribute...
Race for Mayor: Adrian Garcia
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 10, 2015
Garcia does not see any other candidate as his most difficult opponent; like most of them, he sees red tape as the real hurdle. “I’m really running for the citizens of Houston,” he says, “I am proposing my vision, my qualifications, my experience, as what will make my candidacy the most viable.” As the sheriff of the third most populous county in the nation, Garcia approached his job with an executive perspective. “You’re running an operation of almost 5,000 employees, an operating budget of almost a half a billion dollars, and a constituency of almost four million people.”
Race for Mayor: Chris Bell
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 8, 2015
Bell is a proponent of supplying each police officer with a body camera. He called to mind the recent incident where a South Carolina police officer shot unarmed Walter Scott in the back, “if there hadn’t been a video, the police officer probably wouldn’t have been prosecuted.” But, he says, the cameras are intended to be both for the protection of the officers and the citizens, “I believe there would be widespread support.”
Mayoral candidates talk mental health
Marialuisa Rincon, Staff Writer
September 1, 2015
The top seven polling mayoral candidates explained their plans for mental health policy reform Monday night. Sylvester Turner, former Kemah mayor Bill King, Ben Hall, Former sheriff and city council member Adrian Garcia, Marty McVey, Steve Costello and former Representative Chris Bell tackled questions...
New Information Shines Light on Roanoke Killer’s Past
The Associated Press
September 1, 2015
Filed under News
ROANOKE, Va. — On the day he was fired from a Virginia TV station, Vester Flanagan pressed a wooden cross into his boss' hand as two police officers walked him to the door. "You'll need this," he said. More than two years later, Flanagan — fulfilling a threat to put his conflict with co-workers...
Clinton proposes $350 billion college affordability plan
LISA LERER & KATHLEEN RONAYNE, Associated Press
August 10, 2015
Filed under News
WASHINGTON— Calling for a "new college compact," Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday unveiled a $350 billion plan aimed at making college more affordable and reducing the crushing burden of student debt. At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, the state with the highest average student debt in the...
Thailand condemned for repatriation of 109 Uighurs to China
Thanyarat Doksone, Associated Press
July 10, 2015
Filed under News
BANGKOK— Thailand faced a blizzard of international criticism Thursday, and its consulate in Istanbul was ransacked, after it deported 109 ethnic Uighur refugees to China despite fears that they would face persecution there. The U.N. refugee agency called Thailand's action "a flagrant violation...
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