Coming to you from Houston, Texas the nation's fourth largest city, and home of George Bush, aka 41, an out and loud lesbian mayor, and a sprawling metropolis that rivals Los Angeles in terms of diversity and head-ache inducing freeways. Also heat humidity and mosquitos to rival anything in the Brazilian rainforest.
Anyway, I'm an out loud and proud liberal, card-carrying LGBT community member, nonprofit professional, and DKos Trusted User. I appreciate any/all feedback on this little round-up of newsy-ish links and stories from my little corner of the world. I hope it gives locals and others a glimpse into what's really going down in Htown.
For now, I'm keeping the Commmunity/Business/Nonprofit format. Anything else y'all think I should cover? Follow me below for news you can use.
COMMUNITY
Houston to host parade honoring Iraq War veterans
The Iraq War officially ended with little fanfare three months ago, but Houston service members who fought in the nearly decadelong conflict are about to be treated to a Bayou City-style welcome-home celebration. The nation's fourth-largest city will host a parade next month to honor Iraq War veterans. Houston's parade is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, said Gene Tulich, chairman of the nonprofit Houston Military Affairs Committee.
http://www.chron.com/...
Houston-area homeless programs get $2.8 million in federal funding
Houston-area homeless programs will receive nearly $2.8 million in federal funding as part of an Obama administration plan to confront homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday announced that more than $200 million will be allocated to some 700 new homeless programs nationwide. Three Houston organizations were chosen to receive the funds; $1.4 million will go to Houston Area Community Services, $1 million will go to the Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command, and $395,000 will go to Fort Bend Women's Center.
http://www.chron.com/...
New Name, Same Mission: Preserving Houston
Protecting Houston's oldest buildings is a full-time job. Preservation Houston believes it's up to the task. Whose Preservation Houston you ask? They're a long established organization with a brand new name. David Bush with the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance believes their name is quite the mouthful — so much so that the organization has been reborn in the form of Preservation Houston.
http://app1.kuhf.org/...
Advocacy group busy
The tiring trips spurred an advocacy group to form two years ago, and the nonprofit has already garnered impressive membership including a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County planning senior vice president, Texas Department of Transportation engineers and elected officials. The Partnership will unveil a transportation study in the next few months that prioritizes projects in Pearland and also in Downtown Houston south to Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston counties, with Texas 288 being the "spine" or middle of the boundaries. The study will include funding ideas.
http://www.chron.com/...
Without Planned Parenthood, What's Next for Health Program?
A state rule that forces Planned Parenthood out of Texas' Women's Health Program takes effect today, and in response, the Obama administration is preparing to halt federal funding for the program. But the change won't be immediate: Texas health officials say it will take a few weeks to transition to a fully state-run program from one that had been 90-percent funded by the federal government. Since the standoff between Texas and the federal government erupted over the state's decision to write clinics "affiliated" with abortion providers out of the Women's Health Program, abortion opponents have argued that there are thousands of more comprehensive health care providers available to take Planned Parenthood's place.
http://www.texastribune.org/...
BUSINESS
County budget includes no tax hike
Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday adopted a $1.34 billion general fund budget for the fiscal year that started March 1, planning no tax hike this fall and no cuts in services. The budget returns the county very close to its spending level of two years ago. The budget adopted last fiscal year prompted dozens of layoffs. The county is projected to have spent $149 million less last fiscal year than it did the year prior, most of it due to savings in salaries and benefits.
http://www.chron.com/...
Chevron predicts a jump in output
Chevron Corp. said Tuesday it is on track to boost overall production 20 percent by 2017 because of major liquefied natural gas projects in Australia and shale plays worldwide. Chevron holds more than 8 million acres of diverse shales, Kirkland said, referencing the type of underground rock formations that have led to a renaissance in oil and natural gas production in the United States with advancements in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
http://www.chron.com/...
Citi, Ally, SunTrust And MetLife Flunk Fed's Stress Test
The Federal Reserve released the results of its stress tests Tuesday afternoon, revealing that 15 of the 19 banks that submitted to the exam passed. The four that did not were Citigroup, Ally Financial, MetLife and SunTrust Banks. The quartet did not meet the necessary 5% capital ratios, assuming their proposed capital deployment through 2013, in the face of the Fed’s “supervisory stress scenario.
http://www.reuters.com/...
Encyclopaedia Britannica ends print, goes digital
In yet another sign of the growing dominance of the digital publishing market, the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print is moving solely into the digital age. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, which has been in continuous print since it was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1768, said Tuesday it will end publication of its printed editions and continue with digital versions available online.
http://www.reuters.com/...
NONPROFIT / OTHER
HUD Grants Homeless Programs $201 Million
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is awarding $201 million to 731 new programs to help the homeless, part of a record amount aimed at keeping the homeless out of jails and emergency rooms, the department said on Tuesday. The new grants include $15.7 million to support 103 new housing and service programs in rural areas, HUD said in a statement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
White House Adds AmeriCorps Members to Help in Natural Disasters
The Obama administration announced today it had created a new program to train AmeriCorps members to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency respond to natural disasters. The new “FEMA Corps” will add 1,600 people a year to the AmeriCorps rolls over five years, welcome news for a program that has faced spending cuts and freezes in recent years.
http://www.nationalservice.gov/...
Community Philanthropy: It’s Not Just for the Wealthy Anymore
Until somewhat recently in the U.S., community foundations were pretty much the province of the wealthy. The same goes for the rest of institutional philanthropy—family foundations, donor-advised funds, etc. But something may be happening to community philanthropy in the U.S. and around the world that reflects the “mutuality of philanthropy,” the sense that “community philanthropy is for everyone,” according to Nick Deychakiwsky, senior program officer of the C.S. Mott Foundation.
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/...
YouTube Opens Up Live Streaming to Non-Profits First
YouTube has given all members of its non-profit program the ability to live-stream from their channels. YouTube wrote in a blog post Monday that this will give its non-profit program members the chance to spread their causes, by sharing charity events and conferences in real-time.
http://mashable.com/...