Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

This certainly sounds like a promising idea. Protecting the region from a hurricane’s storm surge, says William Merrell of Texas A&M University at Galveston, is simple: Extend Galveston’s seawall to the island’s West End, build a similar structure along Bolivar … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is a pleasant surprise. The University of Texas Medical Branch hospital, still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ike, will remain on Galveston Island under a plan approved today. The decision by the University of Texas Board of Regents … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Missed this last week. A lawsuit challenging the layoffs of nearly 3,000 employees at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will be fought on home turf, a state district judge ruled Wednesday. The courtroom audience applauded as Galveston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s been plenty of action on land cleaning up after Hurricane Ike. Now there’s going to be a similar amount of action in the water. The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for protecting the coast, has pinpointed nearly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So as noted, hurricane relief has been designated as emergency items by Governor Perry for the Legislature. They will have their work cut out for them. Ike and two other hurricanes — Dolly and Gustav — struck Texas last year … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This sure seems like a no-brainer to me. For a century, this vulnerable barrier island’s famed Seawall has protected, comforted, enabled and endured. But the hopelessly romantic notion that the Seawall could stand tall forever, holding back storm surges while … Continue reading → Continue reading →

According to an email I was sent, the following letter was sent to Governor Perry from the Galveston Republican Women concerning the state of UTMB. It’s beneath the fold for your perusal. Continue reading →

Galveston really needs help. Officials pleaded with a state legislative panel today for sales tax rebates, emergency loans and other steps to keep this island city functioning as it struggles to rebuild after Hurricane Ike. Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve said before that I fully expect there to be a push for an expansion of legalized gambling in Texas in the next legislative session. Here’s further evidence of that. Casino gambling is increasingly seen by some as a way … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Faculty Association has a question about UTMB. One would think that any outfit pleading $710 million in damages due to Hurricane Ike would instantly cut out bonuses and such, particularly $3 million worth of bonuses, eh? They tell … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is extending Medicaid coverage for about 34,000 children in the Houston-Beaumont areas because Hurricane Ike may have disrupted families’ ability to get and return the forms to renew their coverage, the commission … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Health insurance. Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said more than half of the 72,000 children statewide who did not re-enroll in Medicaid are from the Houston and Beaumont areas — both hit by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From the Inbox: Texas State Employees Union / CWA Local 6186 News Release Rally to Rebuild and Restore UTMB Galveston Wednesday, December 17, 4:00 pm Market St. between 10th and 11th Streets, Galveston Contact: Myko Gedutis, TSEU, 713-661-9030 Dr. David … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We have a winner in the Recycle Ike contest. A team of Rice scientists and students won a city contest Wednesday to devise a new way to recycle tree debris. The winners of Houston’s “Recycle Ike” contest accepted $10,000 in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Lots of lawsuits in the news today. A Galveston district judge should void a decision to fire 3,800 employees at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston because it was illegally made during a closed meeting, according to a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sounds reasonable to me. Hurricane scientists meeting in Miami this week will discuss, and perhaps act on, a proposal to develop a new scale for classifying hurricanes that better accounts for storm surge. “It is not an easy issue, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A lot of people who took the official advice to stay put and shelter in place during Hurricane Ike are saying they won’t be doing that the next time a big storm comes this way. More than eight in 10 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Seems to me this article is a lot like this article. At the end of the day, my basic point is still the same. Houston’s Galleria area had relatively few power outages following Ike, which area boosters attribute largely to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Given all the tree debris that resulted from Hurricane Ike, it comes as no surprise that there’s way more of the stuff than the city knows what to do with. So the city is asking for your help to figure … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve been wondering when the curbside recycling program would be restarted. The answer is “soon, we hope”. Eco-minded residents who normally place plastics, newspapers and other items at the curb for recycling will have to continue to visit city drop-off … Continue reading → Continue reading →

With some early voting locations not available due to Hurricane Ike, Galveston County officials consider their alternatives. [Democratic] Party Chairman Lloyd Criss told county commissioners during their Wednesday meeting that Hurricane Ike shouldn’t disenfranchise 1,000 or so people living in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Still a lot of debris to be dealt with. More than a third of the heaping piles of debris in front of Houston households have yet to be touched by the army of laborers tasked with cleaning them up, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →