A Peek

The Chron today has a story on the H-Town City Council member from District J who is “rebranding” his council district. Huh? Council Member Edward Pollard admits he is looking to run for a higher office.

8,165 District J folks voted in the November 2023 municipal election, the lowest of any city council district. The highest voting council district was C, where 47,741 folks voted. The numbers clearly show that CM Pollard has a long way to go.

I don’t see the point of the story, other than to give publicity to CM Pollard for a future political campaign. Here is how the story starts:

Council Member Edward Pollard has proposed rebranding his district into its own “city” as he increases the number of services available to residents.

The move, which comes down mostly to a name at the end of the day, could prove beneficial if Pollard wants to seek another political office in the future, one expert said.

Pollard, who represents District J in southwest Houston, posted on Linkedin that he would be rebranding his district as “J City,” which will “run like its own municipality with services and programs that are specifically tailored for J City residents.”

“J City” will include services Pollard already provides residents, such as a district police patrol to address low-level crime, but it will also seek to personalize offerings to residents through additional services that will be provided by city contractors. 

Those new services will include a supplemental maintenance team that mows right-of-ways and ditches, and a beautification team that clears graffiti and illegal dumping. Pollard’s plan will also include an animal welfare team that provides services to pet owners and conducts stray sweeps, and a Good Neighbor Program that provides exterior home repairs to disabled, senior or veteran residents.

Renée Cross, senior executive director of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, said Pollard’s rebrand of his district into its own city was a “good public relations move.”

Cross said it might bring more attention to the district, showing voters what council members do and helping residents understand how their government can help them.

Through a political lens, the move highlights Pollard as a leader in the district who takes action and is innovative, Cross said, which could be good if Pollard has higher political ambitions.

Here is the entire read: What could this Houston council district rebrand mean for residents?.

Oh, well. Like I said, a long way to go.

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I saw this on Next Door yesterday:

Hey neighbors, we live on the 1100 block of Timbergrove and just spotted 2 coyotes in the empty lot next to our home. They fled to the creek once they heard our dog barking. We spotted one earlier this morning as well. Giving an alert to anyone that may put their dogs in the backyard along the creek or anyone walking their dogs.

Over the past couple of years, I have seen a coyote a couple of times scooting down my street. Both times it happened early in the morning when I opened my front door on the way to pick up my Chron. The coyote just glanced over at me and kept on scooting,

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Dylan Dreyer from the “Today” show has a new book for kids, and it is the featured photo. It is about the weather.  The title is what she says when she tosses the weather over to the local affiliates, like Al Roker’s “your neck of the woods.” Got it?

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On a football note, both the Longhorns and Texans are underdogs this weekend.