Houston Newsmakers Nov. 5: Astros, Ronald McDonald House expansion, Girl Scouts push back

HOUSTON – As the Houston Astros and the Houston community bask in the glow of a World Series title, the Ronald McDonald House strains at the seams at full capacity to provide a home away from home for the families of seriously ill children. 

Former state Rep. Rick Noriega is the CEO of Ronald McDonald House Houston, where the families stay. He said a much-needed fundraising campaign has made great strides but is short of the goal.

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“We’re having to turn away 12 to 15 families a day,” Noriega said. 

“So what this project will do is allows us hopefully to keep pace a little bit with the expansion of the Texas Medical Center and to care for more families and children better than anybody else in the world.”    

ALSO

The Boy Scouts have announced they will start accepting girls. The CEO of the San Jacinto Council of the Girl Scouts of the USA is Mary Vitek. She says that news helps the Girl Scouts be more focused on their message. 

“We are more committed than ever to making sure we’re bringing this experience to more girls than ever,” she said. “We know the outcomes are there for girls to pursue opportunities in a lot of different areas that they may not pursue otherwise.” 

Much more from Mary Vitek on this week’s "Houston Newsmakers," with Khambrel Marshall

AND

Houston City Council member Dwight Boykins said voting for the pension obligation bnd in next week’s election is not a long-term solution but it’s a start. 

“The can was kicked down the road for many years, and that’s why (I) give Mayor Turner a lot of credit for addressing it on the front end,” he said. “We need Houstonians as a whole to continue to participate to help us move our city forward.” 

Boykins also weighed in on the future impact of a HEB Super Store that will soon be built in his district.

Much more from all of the guests on Houston Newsmakers, Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.

•  Rick Noriega, Chief Executive Officer, Ronald McDonald House Houston, 713-795-3500, www.rmhhouston.org      
 
•  Dwight Boykins, Houston City Council, District D, 832-393-3001 districtd@houstontx.gov   www.houstontx.gov/council/d Twitter: @DwightBoykins

•  Mary Vitek, CEO, San Jacinto Council, Girl Scouts of the United States of America,  713-292-0300 or 800-392-4340, www.gssgc.org Twitter: @GirlScoutsGSSJC 

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