Admit it, you like me. You like me a lot. What is it about me that you like? Oh, pretty much everything: my oversize self-confidence, my relentless charm, the way I get so worked up and passionate about things—even my deep despair, and my belief that no one hurts, no one really feels sorrow, the way I do. You can’t help it, you’re drawn to me. And that’s fine, because I am pretty fascinating. Unfortunately, new research shows that eventually you’ll tire of me. Just like all the others, your initial adoration will give way to exhaustion and disdain for the way everything I do is somehow centered around me. (Why shouldn’t it be? I’m amazing!) It’s a sorry state of affairs, and I’ll be sad to see you go, but you know what? I’m freaking awesome. I’ll make new friends. Because people cannot get enough of me.
April Fool! I'm still here, bringing you community, business and nonprofit links and stories from my Houston, Texas perspective. What follows is information from various news sites.
COMMUNITY
Scaled-back homeless feeding law headed back to council
After weeks of criticism that Mayor Annise Parker is trying to outlaw acts of charity, her administration this week is making a third attempt to place rules on outdoor feeding of homeless people. Several of the city's largest homeless services groups, such as Star of Hope, support the plan. Several smaller charitable groups still oppose the new rules and have distributed T-shirts to homeless people downtown that bear Parker's smiling visage and the words "The homeless can still eat in public, but now you have to ask me for permission."
http://www.chron.com/...
HISD to hold meetings to discuss new school schedules
HISD wants your input before making any decisions on a plan to extend your child's school day by almost 20 minutes. If this plan goes through, it would make each school day 19 minutes longer. Ultimately, that would add 7 full days of school to the school year. They'd do it by coordinating the bell schedule at all HISD schools. Right now, HISD schools have about 20 different start and end times. The district says this move would also save them money; upwards of about $1 million because they could make the bus schedule more efficient.
http://abclocal.go.com/...
Protecting Children From Predators
It is another year and another major effort to keep children safe from dangerous predators. Houston Police and the Harris County Sheriff's Department helped Crime Stoppers launch the 6th Annual "Safe Child Initiative." The Safe Child Initiative brings attention to the month of April, which is child abuse prevention month. Crime Stoppers puts out information about dangerous felons, men and women who have harmed children.
http://app1.kuhf.org/...
Citing Resources, Several Districts Steer Clear of School Funding Suits
More than half of the school districts in Texas, representing roughly 3.5 million students — or 75 percent of the overall total — have signed on to sue the state over the way it funds public schools. But fewer than 500 districts haven’t. Many of those districts, already facing budget cuts, say they just don’t have the resources. As of Monday, 452 out of the 1,028 Texas school districts haven’t joined one of the five lawsuits,
http://www.texastribune.org/...
What happened to eastside constable charity?
We have major developments in our 13 Undercover constable investigation. The beleaguered charity founded by Harris County Pct. 6 Constable Victor Trevino is closing down months after 13 Undercover first questioned where the donated money went. The Trevino case could end up in a grand jury any day now, but County Attorney Vince Ryan also promised a full investigation. He's the county's ethics watchdog, but now, he won't let you see what his office has done or hasn't done.
http://abclocal.go.com/...
Texas nears population milestone, remains 2nd largest state
Texas will reach a population milestone on April 3, a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data estimates. A state reaches a milestone when its population ends in at least four zeros, and Texas is expected to have 26,030,000 residents on April 3. Texas' estimated population as of April 1 is 26.027 million, up 881,500 from the official Census Bureau count of 25.146 million in 2010.
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
BUSINESS
Down On The Farm In Texas: Poultry And Pollution
Americans are now eating more chicken than beef or pork. To meet the demand is an industry some have dubbed "big chicken." Texas has become a major player ranking sixth in the nation for poultry production. Our StateImpact reporter Dave Fehilng reports why that's raising concerns about something that might surprise you: pollution.
http://app1.kuhf.org/...
Chevron Phillips building big Baytown chemical plant
Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. is adding to the petrochemical party. The Woodlands-based company on Monday announced it would build in Baytown the world's largest plant, by capacity, for making a key component of plastic resin: 1-hexene. The plant, which Chevron Phillips will begin building this year, is scheduled to start operations in the first quarter of 2014 and have an annual production capacity of 250,000 metric tons, or 551 million pounds, according to a company announcement.
http://www.chron.com/...
Kinder Morgan to take over El Paso building
When Kinder Morgan Inc. finishes acquiring El Paso Corp., it intends to move into El Paso’s newly renovated office building at 1001 Louisiana in downtown Houston. Once the acquisition is completed, which is expected to happen in the second quarter, El Paso’s 1 million-square-foot building will be renamed the Kinder Morgan Building, according to the Quarterly Downtown Real Estate Update for First Quarter 2012 distributed by Central Houston Inc.
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
US airline performance improving
U.S. airlines are doing a better job in overall performance, improving on-time arrivals and handling of lost bags, while drawing fewer customer complaints, an annual report based on federal data shows. An analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation airline performance data shows that the industry's overall quality rating improved to -1.08 in 2011 from -1.20 in 2010. The rankings are based on four factors: On-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints.
http://www.reuters.com/...
NONPROFIT / OTHER
Nonprofit CERI continues international humanitarian work
There are children worldwide who suffer on a daily basis. Few resources in other countries to deal with orphans who are malnourished are among the problems causing children to suffer. However, Kingwood-based Children’s Emergency Relief International is making changes worldwide in the attempt to better lives.
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/...
Just Like Kindergarten
Departmental silos: You have them, but you hate them. If your executives are not onboard with changes to promote the information integration that you’re suggesting, try appealing to their competitive natures. Senior managers need to endorse the organization adopting and adapting donor information. A huge challenge is competition within an organization for donor dollars. Did direct mail generate this prospect, or was it the planned giving department? Who gets to put that money on their balance sheet?
http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/...
New technology changing typical dental visits
This machine takes a cube of porcelain and mills it to the measurements taken by the blue light digital impression. And you come out with a finished, permanent crown, no temporary needed. You can be in and out of the office with your crown in an hour and a half. That's the future in dentistry. Soon, dentists will also have saliva DNA tests that can diagnose oral cancer, periodontal disease, the HPV virus and even breast cancer. Some of that research is being done in Houston.
http://abclocal.go.com/...
Longevity Up in U.S., but Education Creates Disparity, Study Says
Americans are living longer, but the gains in life span are accruing disproportionately among the better educated, according to a new report. Researchers have long known of the correlation between education and length of life, but the report provides a detailed picture of what that link looks like across the country’s more than 3,000 counties. The study, uses government data to rank each American county by health indicators like obesity, smoking, drinking, physical inactivity and premature death. It even considers factors like the density of fast-food restaurants in a county.
http://www.nytimes.com/...