Ice

Mayor White says we need ice.

One of the biggest problems Houston faces in the wake of Hurricane Ike is a shortage of ice, Mayor Bill White said today, pledging to seek assistance from all possible sources, both private and public.

"I'm more concerned about getting ice than anything else," White said. "So long as the president is concerned and as long as we get all the resources of the United States .... the people of the United States will know we take this very seriously."

White said stores such as H-E-B, Kroger and Wal-Mart have sent truckloads of ice to the Houston area, and he promised that they will be reimbursed by the federal government.

The mayor's comments came today after he met with President Bush, who made a helicopter visit to the stricken coast and met with Houston, Harris County and Galveston officials.

"We're not just counting on the federal government," the mayor said, "we're counting on everybody."

White said he hoped to obtain ice-making machines to help alleviate the needs of residents desperate to keep perishable food from spoiling.

Presumably, as power gets restored to more people, this will diminish in importance. We've still got a long way to go on that score.

CenterPoint Energy reported 1.49 million customers, or 66 percent of its customers, still were without power as of 10 a.m. today.

Texas Public Utilities Commission spokesman Terry Hadley said Entergy, which serves much of the northern and eastern sections of the areas hit, still is assessing damage. By 11:30 a.m., Entergy said 374,462 of 395,000 Texas customers, or 95 percent, still are without power. It actually lost progress from earlier in the day.

The PUC says a total of about 2.2 million Texas power customers were without service this morning in the worst power outage in state history.

Texas-New Mexico Power Co., which serves communities near the hard-hit coastline including Angleton and Texas City, said 62,000 of its customers, or 55 percent, are without electricity.

Before the storm hit, CenterPoint and Entergy touted their mutual assistance program, which allows them to tap into crews from Maryland to California, bringing thousands of linesmen and tree trimmers into the area.

As of Monday, 3,000 had arrived and not all had gone to work. Another 4,000 are expected to be working in the area by Wednesday.

CenterPoint said some were still in transit, and others were ready to work Sunday or Monday but had to await damage assessments so they could receive work orders.

I think CenterPoint's made pretty good progress, all things considered. Hopefully with all the extra workers imported, they'll be able to get most of the remaining outages fixed soon. In the meantime, the city of Houston curfew has been modified to the hours of midnight-6 AM.

More volunteer opportunities are listed beneath the fold, courtesy of Rep. Garnet Coleman and the corporate home office. Please help out where you can, and stay safe.

Red Cross
(713) 526-8300
2700 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77098

Houston Area Urban League
(713) 393-8700
1301 Texas Ave, Houston TX 77002

Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
(713) 667-9400
Central Office: 4500 Bissonnet #200, Houston, TX 77005

United Way of Greater Houston
(713) 685-2300
50 Waugh Drive, Houston, Texas 77007

End Hunger Network
(713) 532-3663
2445 North Freeway , Houston, TX 77009

Shelter - Managed by City of Houston

• Location - George R. Brown Center - Downtown Houston - Exhibit Hall A


• Hours - Operating around the clock - 24 hours - no specific schedule.


• Tasks - operating support to shelter - registering individuals, coordinating food/snacks, set-up of cots, and numerous other activities required to operate a shelter.


• Site Contact - Danielle Joseph White.

Houston Food Bank


• Location - Food Bank - 3811 Eastex Freeway - 713-223-3700


• Hours - Volunteers needed anytime between 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.


• Tasks - sorting and packing food to be distributed to local areas - need to expedite

TranStar Phone Bank - Managed by Harris County


• Location - TranStar - 6922 Old Katy Road, Houston - (north of I-10 West and Washington St).


• Hours - Operating around the clock - 24 hours


• Tasks - answering phones to respond to community needs


• Site Contact - Missy Gun (If not available, please ask for volunteer coordinator).

Posted by Charles Kuffner on September 16, 2008 to Hurricane Katrina