Houston City Council delays vote on water bill ordinances that couldโve provided instant relief to customers
The city of Houston could finally see changes to its policy that will hopefully help Houstonians who are feeling DRAINED by high water bills. The vote on new proposals was put on hold during the city council meeting.
Whatโs next after KPRC 2 Investigates reveals โPorsche Partnershipโ in Houston mayorโs office?
KPRC 2 Investigates exposed a โPorsche Partnershipโ between federally convicted former City of Houston City Council Relations Director William-Paul Thomas and local businessman Jason Yoo. Vehicle history records show that in April 2018, Yoo and Thomas purchased a 2015 convertible Porsche.
Winter Street Studios fire update: Houston donates $250K to Emergency Relief Fund for artists
Mayor Sylvester Turner and the city of Houston announced a $250,000 donation to the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) Emergency Relief Fund for artists who were affected by the December fire at Winter Street Studios.
โYou donโt have to close out the partyโ: Houston leaders call for city to celebrate โresponsiblyโ this New Yearโs
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peรฑa called for residents across the area to bring in the New Year responsibly.
Violence in Harris County: Mayor Turner, other local leaders speak about public safety at inaugural conference at NRG Center
Mayor Sylvester Turner and other local leaders across Houston spoke at a Violence Prevention Conference hosted at NRG Center Tuesday, saying despite the high rate of crime, Houston is not the โmurder capitalโ of the United States.
Telephone Road Project: Mayor Turner introduces $21M RAISE grant for construction
The United States Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that the City of Houston will receive $20.96 million in federal funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) grant program for the Telephone Road: Main Street Revitalization Project.
Houston area scrap metal company believes theft prevention should be the focus of cityโs new ordiance on catalytic converters
The owner of C&D Scrap Metal said the city of Houstonโs new ordinance on catalytic converters is redundant to rules and regulations that already exist, and the city should have spoken to recyclers before amending the ordinance.
โWe are fed upโ: Third Ward community members call for Houston leaders to get crime under control after violent nightclub shooting
Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke at the โNo More Crimesโ news conference hosted by the MacGregor Super Neighborhood and the Riverside Civic Association in Third Ward Monday morning.
Mayor Turner speaks at water distribution at Delmar Stadium
HOUSTON โ Due to overwhelming demand from the public, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that Fridayโs water distribution at Delmar Stadium will begin one hour earlier than scheduled. As low water pressure remains an issue across the city, many Houstonians are without water or lack the power to boil drinking water. Mayor Sylvester Turner, city employees and volunteers will distribute water at 10:30 a.m. A news conference will take place at 11 a.m. The city is also expected to distribute water to several senior living centers and provide more supply to city council members to distribute in their districts. Each council member will determine the location and hours for the bottled water distribution.
Celebrating Houston history makers: Meet this yearโs 8 award-winners
Eight community volunteers are being honored by Comcast this year, in celebration of Black History Month. It has been four years now since the Mayorโs History Makers Awards presented by Comcast kicked off. Comcast partners with the Mayor of Houston annually to recognize eight African-American citizens who are making a difference in the local community. They deserve to be celebrated every day -- and especially during Black History Month,โ Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Publisher, Houston Style Magazine; Edward Pollard, Houston City Council Member, District J; and Dr. Ruth Simmons, President, Prairie View A&M University.
โOn our radarโ: Mayor Turner calls out rapper Bow Wow on Twitter following overcrowded parties over the weekend; the rapper responds
HOUSTON โ Mayor Turner said he has had enough after a weekend of partying and overcrowded clubs in Houston. โSafe to say the mayor of Houston hates my guts,โ Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Moss, said Monday. โ Bow Wow (@smoss) January 18, 2021Bow Wow also responded to the mayorโs post and also posted on Instagram about the weekend. Bow Wow's response to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. (Twitter/Instagram)Bow Wow's response to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Turner gets vaccine as he makes plans to ramp up cityโs clinics
HOUSTON โ Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner received the coronavirus vaccine Monday as he makes plans to ramp up immunization clinics across the city. After announcing increasing case numbers, hospitalizations and positivity rate, Turner rolled up his right sleeve and received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Turner said about 2,000 people received the shot at the cityโs first vaccine clinic that was opened over the weekend. He said people can also contact their health care provider to arrange to receive the shot if they have the vaccine available. The cityโs 14-day positivity rate was 13.9% as of Monday.
Raising the bar of quality of life by improving Houston streets
HOUSTON โ A plan that would go beyond just repairing potholes and extending the life of streets and making them last longer, that is Houston Mayor Silvester Turnerโs goal. His new Street Rehabilitation program is designed to improve nearly 300 miles of Houston roadways by the end of this year, with a goal of eventually touching 100% of Houston streets in the time to come. Everyone who travels on City of Houston streets, whether they are driving, walking or biking should do so in a safe and equitable manner, according to Mayor Turner. -Public Works will conduct their research, analyzing streets in all 11 districts and will determine the condition and rideability. -theyโll be fixing street surfaces, fixing curbs, storm drains, sidewalks, and making ramps more accessible.
Mayor Turners Back 2 School Fest helps thousands for the 2020 school year
HOUSTON Lines of cars showed up for the Mayors Back 2 School Fest. The distribution is drive-thru style and volunteers started to fill up the trunks of cars with back to school supplies, food and masks at 8 a.m. on Friday morning. The event, which is being presented by Shell and is in partnership with the Houston Food Bank, is designed to help economically disadvantaged elementary school students and their families prepare for the school year. I think its great, matter of fact it is very organized I didnt think it would be this organized, said Leon Deal. In addition to distributing masks and backpacks stuffed with school supplies, the Houston Food Bank will also be providing families with necessary food items..Click here to pre-register for the event.
City of Houston creates $19M rental assistance program. Hereโs what you need to know
Turner thanked the Houston Endowment for giving $2 million, Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund for $1 million contribution and $1 million from the Kinder Foundation. Turner said the rental assistance will not be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis, but to provide a lifeline to those facing immediate eviction with the greatest need. โThe rental assistance will not be allocated on a first come first served basis, but rather we intend to provide a lifeline to those facing immediate eviction with the greatest need. Turner said the Houston Apartment Association is working with the city to agree to a grace period. โWe believe rental assistance is the best way to remedy the stress being put on housing providers and residents,โ said Clay Hicks, Houston Apartment Association president.
Houston Health launches multilingual campaign to help stop spread of COVID-19
HOUSTON โ Better Together is a new multilingual campaign by the Houston Health Department to protect Houston families from COVID-19. According to Houston Health, the data-driven public health campaign will provide information to high-risk populations and neighborhoods with high positivity rates. Officials said the public health campaigns are apart of an overall mission to curb the spread of COVID-19. On Thursday, the Houston Health reported 1,304 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 45,415 cases within the cityโs limits. Of those who died, nine were Hispanic, according to Houston Health.
Turner says coronavirus is running โrampantโ in Houston with more than 1,500 new cases Monday
HOUSTON โ Mayor Sylvester Turner said that COVID-19 is running rampant in the city of Houston Monday as he announced 1,544 new cases bringing the cityโs total to well over 30,000 cases. Turner was joined by Houstonโs Health Authority Dr. David Persse and Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Peรฑa, among others. Turner said the virus does not discriminate and will impact anyone who is in close proximity to others. Turner said he wants the economy to remain open but said it is important the city deal with the virus. RELATED: Harris County heat map shows coronavirus cases by ZIP codeHe too urged residents to wear masks.
Mayor Turner to give details on Liftoff Houston Business Plan Competition; $30,000 in prizes available
HOUSTON โ Mayor Turner will announce the launch of Liftoff Houston, the City of Houstonโs annual business plan competition sponsored by Capital One Bank and administered by the Houston Public Library (HPL) and the Office of Business Opportunity (OBO). The plans will be announced at City Hall at 3 p.m.Turner said winners in three categories โ Service, Product and Innovation โ will each receive $10,000 from Capital One Bank. Due to COVID-19 concerns, this year all Liftoff Houston events will be held virtually. The program also includes an Educational Pathway, which provides business education opportunities to all who are interested. Houston Public Library Director Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson, Office of Business Opportunity Director Marsha Murray and Capital One Bank VP of Business Development Mark Boucree will also speak during the press conference.
VIDEO: Peaceful protests, passionate speeches and prayers mark Houstonโs 3rd day of seeking justice for George Floyd
Many are demanding justice for the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo walks arm-in-arm with a woman during a rally for George Floyd. ๐ท Mark Felix / AFP pic.twitter.com/enUIwuBHTh โ NBC News (@NBCNews) June 1, 2020#Houston police chief Art Acevedo (white mask) took part in and spoke at today's peaceful protests. Brazoria County NAACP hosted a Justice 4 George Floyd healing prayer at the Shadow Creek Sports Complex in Pearland. Justice 4 George Floyd vigil LIVE: Community members host Justice 4 George Floyd prayer vigil in Pearland https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/05/31/blog-mayor-sylvester-turner-and-hpd-chief-art-acevedo-speak-local-pull-up-and-praise-event/ Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Sunday, May 31, 2020Houstonians also gathered Sunday at Cuney Homes in the Third Ward to pray for the family of George Floyd.
Up to 3,000 city of Houston employees could be furloughed under proposed budget
HOUSTON โ There is a $169 million budget gap in the city of Houstonโs budget for the next fiscal year, according to the numbers Mayor Sylvester Turner released on Tuesday. The city is reeling from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and local leaders are not sugar-coating it. City leaders said they need to make drastic cuts, which means thousands of city employees are facing the possibility that they could be furloughed. Turner said he will try to secure more funding to save those jobs by using federal money. โIโve asked Chief Pena with the fire department and Chief Acevedo and others to take a look at where their employees were used specifically for COVID purposes.
This is what Mayor Sylvester Turner says it will take to reopen Houston
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner at his daily coronavirus update Wednesday said there is no unilateral plan to reopen the city. โI donโt think anyone is saying that all of a sudden Monday for example that itโs going to be business as usual,โ Turner said. โI donโt think the governor is saying that. Now, instead of someone else swabbing their nose, people are being asked to swab themselves, but they are having a hard time understanding how to do it, so that is causing some backup at testing sites, Persse said. Persse said they are working to iron out the kinks and get the testing sites running smoothly.
Turner tours second Houston coronavirus testing site Thursday as more deaths reported in city
HOUSTON โ Mayor Sylvester Turner was joined by the Houston Health Department and the Office of Emergency Management to discuss the city of Houstonโs continued response to the coronavirus Thursday. Turner announced that there were 48 new cases of coronavirus in the city and two more deaths, just 24 hours apart. โSix deaths in the city of Houston. One is too many but the number six deaths in the city of Houston. Turner got a tour of Houstonโs second COVID-19 testing site Thursday afternoon and a look at how it works.
Mayor Turner recommends staycations over international trips this spring break in response to coronavirus
HOUSTON โ More cases of coronavirus are surfacing in the greater Houston area, and they are all linked to a Nile River cruise in Egypt. โAll of these individuals were on the same trip together... in Egypt,โ said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Three people in Maryland have tested positive for the coronavirus and have also been connected to the Nile River cruise, the Washington Post reports. The first positive Coronavirus test from the group was announced Wednesday in Fort Bend. KPRC 2 sources confirmed health officials are currently investigating another eight people because they were also on the same Egypt trip.
City of Houston hires planner in effort to create better public transportation
The City of Houstonโs intentions to build a better mass transit system took a big step forward Monday. Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the appointment of David Fields as the cityโs first chief transportation planner. Turner said creating more options for transit in the city will reduce deaths resulting from automobile accidents. โHouston needs a Chief Transportation Planner who can create safe and efficient transportation options for all Houstonians. I am confident that David Fields will break down the silos and fully integrate the cityโs mobility solutions with all our partners,โ Turner said.