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Northeast News

Thanksgiving Turkeys given away by Jackson Lee, Senfronia, others

December 3, 2019
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee gives out 200 Thanksgiving turkeys at Jacinto City’s Heritage Hall. Congresswoman Lee gives out annually 1,500 to 2,000 turkeys in her 18th Congressional District. (Photo by Allan Jamail)

By Allan Jamail

Houston, Jacinto City & Harris County – November 26, 2019 — 1,500 plus residents throughout Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s 18th Congressional District received turkeys and pies on her annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway Day.

Congresswoman Lee began early each of two mornings and going late into the evenings traveling throughout her district personally handing out turkeys. At each of the 20 stops Lee extended her message of goodwill and wishing a happy Thanksgiving message to approximately 2,000 of her constituents.

This year Congresswoman Lee and her volunteers were joined by Mahesh Rege, Regional Service Coordinator of Region 10, of the Houston Chapter of the Sathya Sai International Organization (SSIO) and his volunteers, Krishna Pallerla, Gayathri Ballingam and Srini Parthasarathy, giving away pies to those in attendance.

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County Judge Hidalgo outlines key accomplishments at first State of the County

November 26, 2019
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo

Announces New Focus on Early Childhood Development

Harris County, Texas – November 15, 2019 – Today, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo joined business leaders, residents, and community leaders from across the region to deliver the first State of the County address of her term. During her remarks to about 900 attendees, Judge Hidalgo outlined key areas of progress in fostering a safer, healthier, and more equitable Harris County and announced a new initiative that will focus on improving early childhood development.

“The state of our county is strong,” said Judge Hidalgo. “But being strong is about much more than having a low unemployment rate or a strong bond rating. It’s about making sure that all of our residents enjoy equal access to the great opportunities available to them in Harris County. Over the past year we’ve made county government more transparent, made strides to reform our criminal justice system, and have begun to make up for lost time when it comes to investing in our flood control infrastructure. But there is much more to do, and we look forward to another year of ambitious, meaningful initiatives, including a focus on what we can do to improve early childhood development and education.”

Drawing from the “Talking Transition” initiative, Judge Hidalgo will kick off a community engagement series next year as the first step towards a larger goal of a meaningful early childhood development initiative in Harris County. Programs that focus on early childhood development have one of the strongest returns on investment for any type of public program. Children who benefit from initiatives like subsidized childcare and early education tend to have higher high school graduation rates, fewer arrests, lower rates of substance use, and higher rates of employment as adults.

During her remarks, Judge Hidalgo also provided updates on key priorities since her swearing in. Some key areas of progress include:

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Aldine ISD earns state’s highest fiscal accountability rating for 16th straight year

November 26, 2019

For the 16th consecutive year, Aldine ISD received a rating of “Superior” under Texas’ School FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) accountability rating system. The “Superior” rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Aldine ISD’s financial management and reporting system.

The primary goal of the School FIRST system is to ensure that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices. The School FIRST system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.

The School FIRST system has 15 indicators that are evaluated. The first five indicators are critical indicators and must be met to avoid failure. The other 10 indicators evaluate financial solvency and financial competency.

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Local Legislator receives Hunger Leadership Award

November 26, 2019
Rep. Armando Walle, middle, receiving Hunger Leadership award.

Texas State Representative Armando Walle of Houston is one of four state lawmakers who are being honored by Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks, with a 2019 Hunger Leadership Award for their work to end hunger in the 86th Texas Legislative Session.

A ceremony for Rep. Walle was held last Friday, November 15 at the Houston Food Bank.

The four lawmakers honored at the ceremonies were:

– Representative Armando Walle – Houston Food Bank (Houston)

– Senator Brandon Creighton – Montgomery County Food Bank (Conroe)

– Representative Terry Meza – North Texas Food Bank (Plano)

– Senator Charles Perry – South Plains Food Bank (Lubbock)

Each honoree championed critical legislation to support food banks in their effort to end hunger.

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Klineberg speaks on future plans for North Houston District

November 25, 2019
Dr. Stephen Klineberg

An exciting presentation was led by Rice University – Kinder Institute’s Dr. Stephen Klineberg at the North Houston’s Business Community Breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Intercontinental Airport Hotel on Oct. 31.

More than 100 guests gathered to hear the acclaimed expert on Houston’s changing demographics and to learn about the latest improvements for Greenspoint. (more…)

Newspaper publisher celebrates milestone birthday, memorable life

November 19, 2019
Publisher Gilbert Hoffman with his wife Mei-ing

In 1994, Gilbert Hoffman and his wife Mei-ing bought the Highlands Star – Crosby Courier, fulfilling one of Gilbert’s lifelong dreams: to own a newspaper. This also marked the beginning of what would become a small publishing conglomerate, serving the greater Houston area with community papers such as the Star-Courier, Northeast News, and North Channel Star.

This week, Gilbert celebrates his 80th birthday. Upon such a significant milestone, it is worth looking back on his remarkable life, family, adventures, and many careers. (more…)

MacArthur Generals earn first Playoff Berth Since 2007

November 19, 2019
MacArthur coach Wayne Crawford has led the Generals to their first playoff berth since 2007.

Coach Wayne Crawford’s team secured its first post-season berth since 2007 in the Class 6A state football playoffs with a 25-22 victory over Davis High on Friday, Nov. 1.

The Generals will face the top seed out of District 15-6A in bi-district the weekend of Nov. 15-16. Their opponent will be determined after Week 10’s results.

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Three incumbents returned to AISD Board; Randy Bates elected to Position 1 seat

November 12, 2019

Voters in Aldine ISD went to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5 and returned incumbents Dr. Kimberley Booker, Dr. Viola M. Garcia and Paul Shanklin to their respective seats on the Aldine ISD Board of Education and elected Randy Bates to the Position 1 seat.

Bates, an attorney, defeated Jamail Johnson by 28 votes (3,168 votes to 3,140 votes) to claim the Position 1 seat that was previously held by Patricia Ann Bourgeois. Bourgeois did not seek re-election. Candidate Steve Moore garnered 2,213 votes and Jimmy Morales received 1,875 votes in the Position 1 race. Aldine’s school board election follows plurality rules and candidates with the most votes wins the election. There were 10,396 votes cast in the Position 1 race.

Shanklin ran unopposed and was returned to the Position 2 seat. He received 8,156 votes.

Dr. Booker received 6,881 votes and defeated Danny Spears (1,925 votes) and Rickey Tezino (1,235 votes) in the Position 6 race. There were 10,041 votes cast in the Position 6 race.

Dr. Garcia received 4,668 votes and defeated Terkara Cormier (2,983 votes) and Nico Matthews (2,510 votes) in the Position 7 race. There were 10,161 votes cast in the Position 7 race.

All four will be sworn in at the Nov. 19 board meeting. The results will be official once the votes are canvassed on Nov. 18.

Crowds enjoy East Aldine Fall Festival

November 5, 2019
Crowds lined the pavement to watch the colorful Flamenco Dancers from Aldine ISD. Music and Dance, food and fun were spread through the day.

EAST ALDINE – The Annual Fall Festival, hosted by the East Aldine District, attracted a large crowd of adults and children, enjoying music and dancing, contests and raffles, and lots of exhibits and information booths from local agencies and organizations.

The Festival took place at Town Center this year, next to BakerRipley campus. The theme for the event was observance of “Dia De Los Muertos” and there were lots of costumes and face painting with that theme.

Costumes and make-up highlighted the theme of Dia de los Muertes. Contests included the Sugar Skull Face competition, above, and a Kids’ Dance Contest.

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Dia de los Muertos observed at Brookside

November 5, 2019

Hundreds celebrated Dia do Los Muertos at Brookside Funeral Home and Memorial Park last Saturday.

Festivities included a Celebration of Life, Costume contest, Games, Raffles, Face Painting, Ballet Folklorica, Mariachis, and crafts and vendors. Prizes were awarded in a raffle, including bicycles for kids and a television for adults.

Father Villareal gave a message on the meaning of the day, and blessed the altar with family remembrances.

See more photos of Day of the Dead on page 8 of the print or PDF edition.